Oblivion Part Nine “What do you propose doing with them Ignatz?” Mich’ael Reidel asked. Professor Strasser shook his head, “I haven’t decided. It is obvious that are impostors, but I cannot work out why. In all the years that I have undertaken this project not one person has grown suspicious. Why now?” “Could it be since you have altered the original plan. With being unable to produce an animal like creature capable of speech, and have decided to constitute a deal with the government instead over these creatures, perhaps these people have been hired in that category to find out all they can about what we are really undertaking here.” Mich’ael shuffled uneasily. “That thought did cross my mind, but Mich’ael these people are both American, I cannot believe that our own government would hire people from anywhere other than our own country, especially when they so obvious do not know our language.” “Maybe they are the best in their field.” “Or maybe they have a different lead entirely.” Johannes Kogler spoke at last. He had been thoughtful during the conversation between Ignatz and Mich’ael. The two other men looked at him sharply, “What do you mean?” Strasser asked him. “I am thinking of the time you sent Peterson to the USA, to try to trace the creature that was lost, the one you had sent to your colleague over there. Didn’t you say that Peterson had offered a reward of $200,000 for any information leading to the whereabouts of the creature?” “Yes, but that was years ago. Why, Weston and Conway would be no more than children at the time, what possible link could there be?” “They could be working for someone, who remembered about the reward, and has since made a discovery.” Strasser shook his head, “No, I don’t think so, too much time has lapsed, and since we allowed Geraldine to terminate Peterson....” he gave a cruel laugh, “there really is no-one who knows anything about it now, save for ourselves.” “So we are back to the original question then Ignatz, what do you propose to do with Weston and Conway?” “What can we do? We could corner them perhaps, let on we know they are impostors, or we could give them enough rope to hang themselves, or we can let Geraldine out and allow her to hunt them down. What do either of you suggest?” “None of those.” Kogler replied, “I think we should introduce them to Geraldine, and get their response. After all, if they are to die anyway, it makes perfect sense, that way we can tell by their reactions what they may or may not know.” “And you Mich’ael what do you think we should do?” “I don’t think they should die. I do not share your bloodlust for Geraldine’s skill. I think we should confront them, I believe Mr. Weston has already worked out that there are hidden cameras everywhere, he isn’t stupid you know, lets bring them here and see what kind of story they unravel for changing their names.” Strasser thought about that for a few moments, then finally agreed and nodded, “All right, that is what we shall do, but if we aren’t satisfied, do we all agree that we leave them to Geraldine?” Enthusiastically, and much to Strasser’s delight, Kogler nodded, and though Riedel joined him it was with some reluctance. Catherine waited until dark before venturing to bathe herself and get ready for bed. Devin’s claims of hidden cameras unnerved her, and she did not want anyone to see her undressing. Lying there beneath the warm water in the darkness was a new sensation, one she found that she rather liked. She could see through the skylight directly above her and the starry night was beautiful. Thoroughly relaxed she allowed her mind to dwell on Vincent, and re-opened the Bond. She was so relaxed that it startled her when she could actually see him in her minds eye. He was sitting beneath the bandstand in Central Park, listening to music, and he was totally relaxed too. Catherine thought if she concentrated hard enough she could actually speak with him, but he seemed to be unreachable, and she guessed he was absorbed in the music, whereas where she was everywhere was silent. Still it was a pleasure to invade his mind, and she thrilled when she knew he was thinking of her with such love in his heart, and blushed a little at some of the content of his thinking. Catherine laughed, and she was happy to notice that the sound echoed inside his head, so that he inclined his heart to listen, and she heard him whisper her name, “Catherine?” “I’m here Vincent. I can hear you. I can see you.” “Where are you?” “In the bathtub.” She heard Vincent chuckle, “Are you well?” “Yes, just missing you.” Vincent smiled, “I am missing you too my Catherine.” Catherine thrilled at his words, they made her feel possessed by him, and she liked the feeling of security that it gave her. The water was growing chilly, and Catherine sighed, getting up out of the bath and pulled the plug, hearing the water bubble away down the drain, the only sound in an otherwise silent night. She hoped to climb into bed and become as one in the Bond with Vincent there. Earlier she had drawn on Vincent’s strength to overcome her fears, and now to know he was so close settled her completely. Crossing to the window with a towel wrapped firmly around her she tried to recapture the connection with him as she gazed at the snow capped mountains all around her, but was saddened when she could no longer grasp it, and wondered if it had after all, been a figment of her imagination while she was so relaxed beneath the water. Her thoughts drifted to her son, how old would he be now? Eight, nine months, it didn’t seem possible. She expected that he would be crawling by now, perhaps even walking, and she missed him so much. Of all the people she had mistreated, he was the one she had treated worst of all, he had only been a baby and she had abandoned him. It made her feel wretched and she could only console herself with the thought that had she not have left she may never have met up with Devin, and be in the Alps, searching for Vincent’s roots. Whether that was a good or a bad thing she did not know. For a certainty Devin would still have been there, and at least with the two of them together they could help one another. Towelling her hair dry, she knelt on the bed beneath a window, and looked out, the stars from this side of the villa were tremendous. It was a night for lovers and her feelings for Vincent intensified. When she had reached out to him earlier he had seemed so close, now he was every bit of the thousands of miles away, and her heart ached. Perhaps one day she would be able to attain a tight hold on the Bond, so that she could reach out to him for longer than just a few seconds, and they would really be as one. She wondered if he could still feel everything she was feeling, read her thoughts maybe. It brought her peace of mind, and she infused all her love through the Bond, in the hope that he would feel it. Her hair dry at last, Catherine lay the towel over a rail, where it would dry, and put on her blue silk pyjamas, lifted the duvet and slipped into bed. She felt weary, her limbs ached from the ride up the mountain on Jack, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Closing her eyes, allowing the languor of sleep to overtake her, she barely heard the mountains coming to life, as the sky became filled with the flashing of fireflies that probed the darkness, the croaking of frogs and the singing of crickets. Chamois grazed in the darkness, revelling in the coolness of the night, yet keeping ever wary of the scents coming along on the breeze. Man hunted at night and though the chamois were protected antelope, it didn’t stop the illegal hunter. He walked the wooded sides of the mountains in search of unwary chamois, foxes and rabbits, and he would poach trout from the streams. High up on the mountains the snow glistened in the moonlight, sparkling ice. The stars twinkled above the earth and far, far below owls hooted in the trees as bats soared through the sky homing in by sonar on swarms of mosquitoes. Catherine had left her window ajar, and though she were unaware of the night sounds, they provided a backdrop to her dreams. She stirred, an exquisite smile on her lips, with the night so full around her, so different from the night sounds of New York, she felt happy and relaxed. The mountain air was fresh and wafted across to her bringing with it the fragrances of mountain flowers and pine. Languishing in her sweet dreams, Catherine was at peace within herself as she began to dream of Vincent. She could feel his warmth, hear the velvety softness of his voice, and far away she could hear the gentle tapping on the pipes as people relayed messages to one another. Catherine felt safe and loved. Yet slowly Vincent’s voice trailed away, and she became aware more fully of the sound of tapping on pipes over-riding his voice, growing louder and louder, and she heard her name on them. The sound penetrated her dreams, and half-awake she found herself listening intently. Reaching for Vincent, she found she was alone and she panicked. The dream had been so real, and flinging her arms out, she knocked over the bedside lamp as she tumbled from the bed, momentarily disoriented. Slowly it came back to her where she was, yet she could distinctly hear tapping, and the tapping was spelling her name. Bewildered she followed the sound, it lead her to the bathroom, and then she realised! Devin had found a way! A way in which they could converse without anyone guessing. It was perfect. Taking her hairbrush she tapped back an answer on the joint water pipes beneath the sink and waited. She was jubilant when she heard Devin answer. Now with the way open to them to converse in secret, they could really begin to put their plans into action! *** *** *** You seem somewhat better this morning Vincent, did you sleep well?” Father asked over the top of his morning newspaper. “Yes thank you Father, but it wasn’t the sleep that gave me this new joy, this new hope. I actually spoke to Catherine last night.” “You did, is she back home?” Father frowned, why wasn’t he told earlier? “No, somehow Father, I don’t know how she did it, but she actually opened the Bond, and spoke with me directly. In our mind’s eye we could literally see one another. We have never done that before. It was remarkable, though very brief.” “That’s marvellous Vincent. Is she well?” “She gave no impression of being otherwise, and I believe it was because she was so relaxed and peaceable that she was able to make the contact. Whatever troubled her earlier yesterday, had obviously dissipated by evening.” “Do you think you will be able to contact her again?” “I am able to contact her anytime I wish Father, as long as she has the Bond open her end, I just hope that she tries again to make contact with me. Alas, she might conclude that she dreamt it.” Father nodded gravely, “Well whether she does or not, it is wonderful to see you look so happy Vincent, and I shall pray that she tries to reach through to you again.” “Vincent nodded, “So shall I Father, so shall I.” *** *** *** Catherine felt that this was no ordinary summons. Walking through the grounds from her villa to the institute, with a member of staff that had not spoken to her since he had arrived at her villa, Catherine had an overwhelming desire to flee. Something was definitely amiss. She ought to have expected it of course, when she had blurted out Devin’s name in greeting the afternoon before, she could have kicked herself. She should have realised that it would not go unnoticed yet she hardly expected them to admit to having cameras installed everywhere and least of all the villas. It was an invasion of privacy and decency, and if they were prepared to do so, it could mean that she and Devin were in grave danger. For that would mean that the scientists were dead certain that they were impostors, with dead being the operative word in their case. Catherine found herself ushered into another clinically white room, save for some pictures on one wall of different weather scenes, and that Devin and the three professors were sitting inside waiting for her to join them. Taking a seat alongside Devin, she shot him a questioning glance, but he did not respond, keeping his glance fixed firmly on one of the pictures. All was quiet. No-one spoke, and save for their steady breathing all that could be heard was the gentle ticking of a clock somewhere behind her. Professor Strasser finally rose to his feet, and came to stand in front of her, “Mrs. Conway, who do you see beside you?” he asked her. Catherine glanced at Devin, why would he not help her, give her a look, a grimace, anything to help her know how to answer. “It is my brother Sir,” she replied nervously. “And what is his name, may I ask.” ‘Ouch’, thought Catherine, ‘what do I say now?’ Deciding that honesty was the best policy she replied, “ His name is Devin Wells.” “And your name Mrs. Conway?” “My name is Catherine Chandler.” “So, answer me why did you come here under false identities?” Catherine really did not know the answer to that. Devin made a habit of going under a false identity, it was as second nature to him as breathing. She told Strasser, “I do not know, it was Devin’s idea. I just went along with it.” “Very good so you have already collaborated a story in case you were found out, that is very convenient for you. It does not alter the fact that you have both lied for some reason, and I want to know WHY!?” Strasser brought his fist down hard onto the table, making Catherine flinch, Tell me?” he spat through clenched teeth, “Tell me NOW!” “May I be permitted to speak Sir,” Devin ventured boldly. Strasser barely nodded. “Cathy really has told you the truth Sir. It was, as I explained earlier entirely my own idea, and Cathy never questioned why, for which I was grateful, honestly she does not know my reason for doing this. Had she of been she would never have had a happy holiday.” “So Mr. Wells, how about you tell her of those reasons now, and let us all hear this amazing revelation?” Devin shuffled in his seat until he was facing Catherine. She tried to question him with her eyes, and noticed that his own pleaded with her to understand. What? Taking a deep breath he spoke softly, “I did it for you Cathy. You remember when you divorced Robert, how he threatened that if he couldn’t have you, then no-one else could?” Catherine nodded, trying to keep her face expressionless, “Well, not long after we made our plans to come and tour Europe I heard that he had found out about our trip. He paid someone at customs control to let him know when you came through to catch your flight, and then he was going to hurry over and follow you.” Catherine’s heart jumped in her breast, ‘this is excellent Devin’, she thought, ‘You have missed your vocation’ . Devin continued, “Naturally we could never change our passports, so I thought the next best thing would be to change our identity on our arrival here. And to let you believe it was because I didn’t want people to know who we were for reasons known only to myself, then you would be able to enjoy yourself and Robert would not be able to locate you.” Catherine allowed her hands to visibly shake, and she was relieved when she saw Strasser take note of this, as with her eyes wide with terror she whispered, “Is Robert still looking for me, do you know?” “No, I don’t know the answer to that, but you know Robert, he will never give up and I couldn’t allow him to get to you again.” Devin directed his attention now to Strasser, “Sir if you would look at the scar near to my sister’s ear, you will see how deep it is, and it may surprise you to learn that but for cosmetic surgery, Cathy’s whole face would still be covered in slashes. Her ex-husband did this to her. Would you not, in similar circumstances try to protect your only sister from someone so dangerous?” Strasser looked across at Riedel and Kogler as each in turn shrugged his shoulders. there was no reason not to believe their story, but still it bore no weight. Strasser could not believe it entirely, they were hiding something he was sure of it. “Then you have my sympathy and my apology Mrs. Chandler, at least you can be assured that you will be safe from your ex-husband while you are here. And so that your stay with us is not tiresome, I will endeavour to find you something to occupy your time. There is something I would like to ask however, Mr. Wells, that scar you have on your own face, was that caused by your brother-in-law also?” Devin fingered the scar, wondering how to answer, “No Sir, it was caused by a lion at a safari park, but I prefer not to talk about the attack.” Refraining from asking more questions Strasser said instead, “You may both go now. Mr. Wells you have another assignment waiting on your desk, you can see your sister this evening.” With a curt nod, he held the door open for them. They had been dismissed. *** *** *** After several nights Catherine and Devin were well established in their pipe conversation, be it a little slow, and had made plans to explore more of the complex as soon as possible, either alone or together. Devin had gained access through the computer system to files that intrigued him with maps showing the tunnel system inside the mountain. And Catherine had taken to jogging around the perimeter fence every morning, in a bid to find a way into the wings that burrowed deep into the mountain itself. It was on such a day that she was jogging beneath the early morning sunshine that she saw a woman approaching while keeping to the shadow of the trees. Catherine slowed to a walk and then halted, stepping behind a tree out of sight to observe this stranger. She was very petite and her movements cautious, cat-like. Sniffing the air in spasms as she moved. Hardly daring to breath, Catherine watched silently. This was the first female she had seen on the complex in all the time she had been there, but it wasn’t that which intrigued her, it was the woman’s mannerisms, and her hair! Thick and golden, shielding her face, like a mane, a lion’s mane, and as she stepped briefly into the sunlight Catherine gasped. It was so like Vincent’s hair! Nervously Catherine stepped from her hiding place into full view of the woman, who hesitated when she saw Catherine, her eyes rolling wildly. Catherine called out a greeting to her, and the woman visibly jumped. Shaking herself Catherine laughed gaily, whatever was she thinking of, as the woman came closer. Catherine chided herself for letting her imagination run wild with her, it was only another woman after all, and the shadows had played tricks on her, nothing more. The woman had a pretty face, a normal face, nothing out of the ordinary. Catherine relaxed, not realising that she had been so tense. Eyeing one another keenly, Catherine felt that given the chance the woman would run away at any moment, so Catherine offered her hand and smiled reassuringly at her, happy when the woman visibly relaxed. It would be good to speak with another woman, anyone would be a pleasant change from the three scientists. Devin had told her that the other staff kept to themselves, no-one it seemed spent anytime with any other member of staff after work. Standing there waiting as she approached, Catherine found once again that she was holding her breath, and then a strange thing occurred. The woman came close, and began to sniff around Catherine, whose body became rigid with this strange form of greeting. She sniffed Catherine’s hair, her body, walking around her all the while sniffing. Catherine wanted to laugh at her, and then suddenly she saw the woman’s hands! Allowing her gaze to travel down to the finger tips Catherine gasped when she saw that instead of finger nails, the woman had claws! Joy surged through Catherine, and the woman stepped back searching Catherine’s face with her green eyes. Beautiful cat-like eyes. Seeing Catherine’s friendliness the woman smiled broadly and physically draped herself around Catherine’s body, much like a domestic cat would in greeting its owner. Strained laughter welled up and bubbled over from Catherine’s lips, as she spoke to the woman, “Do you speak English?” The woman stepped back once again and when she opened her mouth to speak, Catherine saw the glint of the same unmistakable fangs, English?” She echoed in a soft velvety voice that made Catherine’s heart somersault, “A little” she told her and made the sign of an inch with her fingers. “What is your name?” Catherine asked, while pointing to herself as the woman tilted her head trying to understand, “My name is Catherine.” she told her gently, “Who are you?” she added pointing towards the woman. The woman smiled as she understood, “Marie”, she replied happily. “Marie”, Catherine repeated, “It suits you.” Marie had seldom seen other women, she was curious, yet she felt she could trust this person, there was something about her that re-kindled a spark inside her, yes there was a definite connection. “Do you live here?” Catherine gestured with her hands, “Is this your home?” Marie shook her head, “No home”, she told Catherine sadly, Catherine noticed the unmistakable sorrow in her eyes and instinctively she hugged her. Suddenly agitated Marie looked up at the trees. “No stay here.” she whispered, and taking hold of Catherine’s arm, she tugged her off the path, into the depths of pine trees. Allowing herself to be led in this manner Catherine found that Marie walked quickly, silently until she reached a density beneath the trees that appealed to her, whereupon she let go of Catherine’s arm, and held a finger to her lips. Catherine hardly dared breath. Marie glanced around her, looking high into the trees and Catherine gasped when Marie squirreled up a tree, to pluck off a camera that Catherine had not even known was there, crush it in her hands and let the broken pieces fall to the floor, as deftly she dropped to the ground to land at Catherine’s feet. In all her features Catherine visualised Vincent, and her excitement grew. This woman just had to be some relation to him. There was so much that Catherine wanted to say, “Are you alone here?” she asked. Recognising the word alone, Marie shook her head. Catherine went on, “Who else?” Marie wrestled with the words in her head, eventually answering; “My girl.” “You have child?” Catherine asked her excitedly. Marie held up two fingers. “You have two children? Here?” Catherine asked. Marie shook her head and even through the depth of the shadows around them, Catherine could see sorrow cloud the bright eyes, as Mary raised only one finger. Catherine’s way of conversing was better than most, yet Marie struggled again to speak the language, for she only understood odd words, Marie chose her words carefully and began to unfold her story. “They”, she gestured towards the complex, “Took...him…away.” Catherine’s mind was racing, ‘A male child? Could it be?’ “When?” she asked breathlessly, “How long ago?” Her legs felt weak, like jelly, as Marie replied, “Long.” Understanding at once, Catherine put the few words into a sentence, “You had a male child and they took him away from you a long time ago?” Marie nodded and picking Catherine’s hand up in her own, she pulled up the fingers and flicked out her wrist in a gesture of counting in multiples of five. Catherine found herself speaking along, “Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty...” Marie stopped at thirty. “Thirty years ago”, Catherine spoke almost to herself, Marie nodded. It had to be Vincent! He was about that age. Catherine looked at this pretty woman, with the golden mane so like Vincent’s with the claws and the teeth, so like Vincent’s, and slowly, incredulously Catherine realised. She was sitting alongside Vincent’s own mother! And yet she was so tiny and Vincent was so large, it seemed impossible. Suddenly Marie jumped to her feet startled, tilting her head to listen. Catherine had heard nothing, yet Marie looked agitated, then before Catherine could speak, Marie had gone, and Catherine did not even see where. And though she searched all that day, there was no more sign of Marie, and the longing to find a telephone, call Peter and ask him to pass on the news to Vincent was overwhelming. Catherine was thrilled beyond belief. Returning to her villa finally late into the afternoon, Catherine found Devin waiting anxiously for her, “Where have you been Cathy, I have been so worried.” he hugged her tightly. Catherine took the opportunity of his closeness to whisper into his ear, “Devin, I have found Vincent’s mother, and he has a sister here too.” Devin held her away from him searching her face, the joy that radiated from her eyes told him all he needed to know, it was no joke. “Its true Devin, they are both here.” she whispered. Delighted, he pulled her back against himself, kissing her full on the mouth, and swinging her around in his arms, “This is great Cathy”, he exclaimed, “I can’t wait to hear all about it.” “There is so much to tell you Devin, I think I will burst if I have to wait until nightfall.” “Cathy, we have to wait, we cannot risk using our method without the cover of darkness. Come on Cath cheer up, we’ve come this far, let’s not ruin it now.” He whispered in her ear, holding her so close he could feel the pounding of her heart, when suddenly her closeness engulfed him and he became aroused to such an embarrassing degree that he pulled away sharply, shocked anew as he saw recognition in her eyes. “Cathy forgive me.” he told her, turning away hurriedly, “I’ll speak with you later.” Bewildered, Catherine watched him as he disappeared inside his villa. Strasser had seen them. He had seen everything, and though he could not hear their words, the body language of Mr. Wells, told him all that he needed to know. It was not the way for a brother and sister to act. He became angry, very angry, they had fooled him again. Something else bothered him too, earlier he had seen Catherine confront Marie. She showed no fear, it was almost as if she had seen her before, yet that was impossible. It had troubled him all day. A knock at the door, and the sound of it opening, startled him, Mich’ael Riedel stood there, “Ignatz, Marie is still out, what do you want us to do this time?” “Leave her.” “Leave her? What outside, isn’t that risky, she may try to escape.” “No, she would never leave Geraldine... in fact I believe it may be an idea to let Geraldine out too.” “Have you gone mad? There are people out there.” “Exactly. Sound the siren to bring all the employees into the complex, only make sure that Wells and Chandler do not join them. I want them left outside, and when you have done that come back and tell me, and I will go and free Geraldine myself.” “But why Ignatz, I thought you trusted them now?” “Not anymore, today I have become convinced that they know what we have here, and I cannot take anymore chances, and besides it is time Geraldine was allowed another kill, she has become frustrated, wild, I cannot seem to handle her these days. A kill might calm her down. It will vent all her anger and we may be able to breed from her after all.” “I don’t know about that Ignatz, I believe its the same with all animals in captivity, they just won’t breed, until their environment is such that its as near as it can be in the wild. You could possible have results only if you set Geraldine free more often, she doesn’t need to kill to become placid.” “But it would be a bonus huh? Come we are wasting time, it will be dark soon, and I would like to be able to see Geraldine stalk her victims. Though it promises to be a full moon, it will be like watching a show beneath spotlight, eh, Mich’ael?” Mich’ael did not reply, could not trust himself to speak, he liked Wells and Chandler, and he would be sorry to see them killed. Mich’ael left and Strasser unlocked a drawer at his desk, extracting a large blue folder, from which he pulled some yellowed papers. His own handwriting from fifty years ago, hadn’t altered much. Old plans, old sketches lay before him. Once the dream meant so much to him, to produce a beast that could speak and think like a man, with the instincts of the wild. A beast that resembles a lion in every way, so that it could be set free onto the savannah and he could monitor its progress, and bring it back when needed to ask his questions. Yet his dream had never reached fruition and now because of the length of time involved, Strasser knew that he had to change his views, his tactics in order to achieve anything constructive from a lifetime of experimenting. Once he had only wanted females to breed from, to strengthen the animal strain, and had made arrangements for any males to be sent to his colleague in the USA who was working on something similar. Only there had only ever been one male that had survived and he had been stolen without trace. Strasser had concluded that he had most probably died. The offspring were vulnerable at birth, Geraldine had almost died herself, and all the others had been still born. So Strasser had aborted the original plan, and now concentrated on a much more sinister idea. The world was always at war in one country or another, and Strasser had convinced a few governments that what they needed in their armed forces was a different type of soldier. One without a conscience, one ferocious and frightening enough to strike terror into the minds of the enemy, just by the mere sight of him. A soldier who would bring certain victory for his country with his insatiable desire to kill. Strasser knew he could achieve this, only if Geraldine would breed. Filled with bloodlust that shone from her menacing eyes constantly, she was a real wildcat in every sense of the word. Strasser had marvelled at her ability to stalk, to sense a victim, to strike him before he was even aware of her presence. And whenever he’d allowed her to kill, Strasser found that it had incensed him, he felt as though he were a spectator in a Roman Circus, watching as the beast ripped apart its prey. He found it stimulating, exciting, erotic. As he heard the sirens go off, he flicked on the screens to show him around the complex. Funny! A lot of the camera’s didn’t seem to be working, maybe the siren had drained the generator needed to run them. Unconcerned, he returned the file to the drawer, locked it, and made his way silently towards the West Wing. Darkness had just fallen as Catherine, unable to contain herself any longer tapped on the water pipes to contact Devin, just as the sirens went off. “What was that?” she tapped to him. “Don’t know,” he tapped back, “Ignore it.” “No, I’m coming across.” Devin met her by the door of his villa, they listened to the siren and as their eyes became accustomed to the darkness, Devin took her arm, and they walked across to the perimeter fence, talking softly. “Perhaps we should have stayed at the villa Devin.” “Perhaps. Not afraid of me, are you Cathy?” “What of you?” she teased him lightly. “So you did notice. I’m sorry Cathy, my feelings were only temporary. It is a long time since I have held a beautiful woman in my arms. I have to apologise for the way my body reacted before I was able to stop myself.” He was grateful for the darkness, so she could not see how his face reddened. “That’s okay Devin, I forgive you. I know that you do not seriously think of me in that way.” He stopped, turning her to face him, “Oh don’t underestimate me Catherine, I do find you physically appealing, but alas, if I want to keep living, I have to ignore what my heart tells me.” “The heart is treacherous Devin.” “Yes Cathy, and so is Vincent.” They both burst out laughing. As the moon rose behind the mountains, they continued to walk in silence, it wasn’t often that they allowed themselves this rare treat. On other occasions they had been sure they had been followed by the security guards with the dogs. Catherine took Devin’s arm for support, the ground was uneven along by the fence, and she hoped that he did not mind the physical contact. As they walked along each with their own thoughts, wishing they were able to talk about Catherine’s discovery, Catherine became aware of an attachment on her other arm, and stopped to look. Marie was there, holding on to her, and Catherine had not even heard her approach. “Marie”, Catherine exclaimed happily, pulling Devin around to meet her. Marie eyed him carefully, she had been watching these two for some time, and approached him cautiously. He stood still as Marie scrutinised him, sniffing him, liking the smell of him. Sensing another friend, she positively purred before him. Devin smiled, “I see what you mean Catherine, she is so like Vincent. I can see the likeness, she has to be his mother.” “Vincent?” Marie queried. Catherine nodded, “Your son.” she relaxed. That Marie was with them assured her that there was no-one else around that may overhear their conversation. That Marie had sharp ears went without question. “Vincent...my son?” Marie replied hopefully. “The child they took from you Marie... we know him.” Marie took in the words carefully, jangling them around in her mind, to get the sense of them. She hardly dared believe what her mind was telling her. Devin put his hand on Marie’s arm, “Vincent’s friends”, he explained pointing to himself and Catherine. Mystified, Marie shook her head. Catherine tried again, “The child they took from you?” Marie understood this she smiled and nodded, waiting expectantly. “We,” Catherine pointed to herself and Devin, “Know where he is.” They watched her face, their own radiating happiness, while her expression went from one of confusion to one of hope and then joy as the words sank in. “My son!” She exclaimed excitedly, “With you?” Catherine and Devin nodded, “Yes.” “Here?” Marie asked hopefully . “No”, Catherine shook her head, and as Marie’s face fell, she hurried on, “Not here. Come we can take you to him.” “You take me?” she asked surprised “How?” “We must leave here.” Devin told her gently and as the moonlight picked out his expression Marie trusted his face, but she became downhearted. “No”, she told them sadly, “No leave here, my girl.” and she looked wistfully back at the institute. Catherine nodded, “Of course Devin she won’t leave without her daughter, we shall have to find a way of getting her out also.” Marie looked from one to the other of them, she knew she could trust them, “I know a way.” she told them seriously, “Come I show you.” *** *** *** To be continued in Chapter Ten.