Chapter 25

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April 29th, 10:00 a.m. The Upper West Side, New York City

The next morning, they both slept in. Danny awoke first this time. It turned out to be a warm and lovely day after the torrential downpour had drenched the City the night before.

He had never known anyone with such a fragile mental condition. Sure, he had friends who served in the military and had to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but he never had to face someone who experienced psychotic breaks like Kate. No doubt this was a young woman trapped in her own being who desperately wanted to break out of her own skin. He didn't know Vanessa Carrie and hoped that he never would, but could only imagine what abuse she had doled out. Kate's burden no doubt drove her to the proverbial edge. He saw her wallow in despair and loneliness, especially because she had so much potential for success. That hidden beauty she possessed was corroding because of her addiction.

He pondered how she had to deal with her creation, the most deadly nerve gas on earth. He thought of all of those scientists who worked on the atomic bomb project and the excruciating inner conflict. Even the Russian officer who invented the AK-47, the first rapid fire machine gun, regretted on his deathbed that he invented it and that it had been used to gun down women and children. But there also were those who could separate themselves from their deadly discoveries. He imagined the hypothetical red button on a console that the operator was told would kill a million people who he didn't know each time he pushed it. It was vastly different from Special Forces training where Danny learned to kill a man with his bare hands, throwing his entire nervous system into the effort. Even the sound of an exploding grenade had had neurological effects on him, what with the periodic ringing in his ears he still experienced whenever he heard sirens, jackhammers, and other loud sounds. Maybe the inventors would think differently if they knew there was someone else out there in the world with their own red button to press, instantly killing a million people she didn't know. And they sure as hell didn't know Katelyn Carrie.

Behind her surly appearance, she made a noticeable impression on him in so short a time. When did my own lust turn to love? He pondered that one for a while, coming up with no discernible answer, but for him and maybe for many other men, he just had to learn to love the one he was attracted to.

He reached across her, embracing her from behind and kissing her softly on the neck.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled.

He took that as a good sign. "Good. I'll make you some eggs."

When he returned with the eggs, she said, "I want to leave this place. This city, I mean." She then told him about Vanessa's summer home up in the Catskills and that she wanted to take him there. Today.

Acting on her whim, he rented a Jeep Cherokee and the two of them drove up the Thruway until they turned west onto Route 17. For the first hour, they drove in silence. As they left the grit of the City behind, the suburbs turned to rolling hills with igneous rock formations. It was easy to appreciate the change of scenery.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Like a freight train ran over my head."

He reached over and held her left hand for a moment, finding it chilly.

From the county road, a seven-mile long macadam covered dirt road wound its way up to the property. The way was heavily forested on each side as they traveled over several small creeks. One, about a mile and a half in, channeled under the road by a stone masonry bridge. Although narrow, the creek ran under the bridge through a corrugated drainpipe.

They passed several homes along the way but Vanessa's property was at the terminus of the road near to the very top of the mountain. The home, set back at the midway point of a circular paved driveway, was a signature Frank Lloyd Wright split-level light box design a flagstone exterior with a pitched roof.

When they left the Jeep, they realized how cold the temperature was up so far north and at 2,800 feet. She beat him to the front door as the windy swells kicked up.

Safely inside, she warmed quickly. The baseboard heat had kept the home temperate through the winter. "Let me give you the grand tour," she said.

The vestibule led to a nice sized living room with a vaulted exposed wooden rafter ceiling, track lighting between each rafter. A prominent flagstone fireplace was on the right, covered by a mezzanine level walkway overhand with steps wrapping around the left side of the fireplace flume. To the left of the vestibule was a large living room suitable for large gatherings, with a glass coffee table surrounded by two burgundy cushioned, wooden armchairs, a white Ottoman, and a gray sofa. Against the far right wall was the kitchen, separated by a granite counter top and cabinets. Against the far wall were nice sized square windows extending from the ceiling down to the cushions of a long, built-in sofa.

On the second floor were four full-sized bedrooms and a den all the way on the left which rested over a three car garage. The windows on the second floor were floor-length to rear of the home, looking over the valley with vertical privacy shades. The wall facing the front had small salt box style windows.

The entire home's walls, floors and moldings were a golden shade of brown, as if one was sitting in an elegant log cabin amidst natural surroundings. The first floor living area had a high ceiling. Off to the right was the kitchen and breakfast bar area. The living area had sofas and area rugs looking out over several picturesque windows over a deck that extended over the precipice with a good three-hundred foot drop. A Mahjong set lay opened on a table, the dust on the case indicating it had not been used in some time.

Kate started the tour. "She took me up here for summers and some long weekends."

Danny thought he detected a hint of nostalgic longing in her voice.

She showed him the upstairs, where they peeked into each of the bedrooms, two of which overlooked the front of the home to the circular driveway and surrounding forest. Vanessa, of course, had used the master, but Kate's was only next door. It was carpeted and adorned with a fully made bed with four posts and a white curtain. There stood a large closet with folding doors and girlish double shelved dresser, but all other signs of any childhood were absent.

She led him across the hall to a spare bedroom and to the left of that, an enormous den, which was an intimidating room to be in if one had to face Vanessa. The walls were adorned with photographs of Vanessa with former colleagues and competitors at various functions. The style of the room was a direct counterpoint to the rest of the home. Its moldings and adornments spoke of a more classic style than rustic.

"I remember living up here when she would have industry people I'd never heard of show up to negotiate agreements between Frugeré and one of her competitors. I guess she thought that the mountain air was a calming influence on everyone."

"I think she's right," Danny said as he recalled his own memories of the SmokeyMountains.

On the far wall was yet another fireplace and a bookcase. Kate walked over to it. "Check this out."

He expected that Kate would show him some of the shelved books. Instead, she pushed aside the bookcase to reveal a hidden door leading to a bi-level stairwell. It led all the way down to an exit to the garage and down another level to the basement.

"The previous owner wanted to get to his precious cars without having to walk through the rest of the house," she said, eyes rolling upward.

"That's going to a lot of trouble just to save a few steps," Danny observed.

She led him down one flight past the garage entrance, then down another flight to the basement built into rocky precipice over the ravine, the view separated only by a sliding glass door leading to a balcony. Near the window were chairs and a coffee table facing a large flat screen TV. Behind the chairs lay a minibar. Separate from the near wall was a long rectangular island with a jet black Soapstone counter top that matched the shelving above it against the near wall. It could have been a kitchen, but it was Kate's very own chemistry lab. An array of beakers and test tubes stood like erect soldiers lined up on all of the counters. Two heating pads stood atop the island counter top.

"So, this is where you worked?" Danny commented, expecting a verbose explanation.

"Played, actually. It's basically been untouched since I graduated high school, but I used to read up on cool chemical reactions. You know, the stuff you can find online. Like what I showed you at my place."

He saw the thin shroud of dust that had settled on the counter top.

She continued. "I can do it again," she said, pointing over to the counter to a glass container holding a white crystalline substance.

"I probably would have gotten into a lot more trouble if I'd known how to do that as a kid," she said with a charming upturned lilt.

"Yeah. That was frightening actually, when you did that."

She smiled and resumed her focus as she scooped a tablespoon sized amount with a measuring spoon and emptied it into a beaker. She placed the beaker on the stand directly over the pad.

"It's not a fire hazard, really. Just don't look down into it, unless you want a charred face."

"I could use a shave," he quipped. Danny gazed at her with admiration. One could actually learn things from her. When Kate wasn't seeking out the next high, her mental dexterity and meticulousness made an impression.

She reached underneath the counter and switched on the heating pad.

"All I have to do is add sugar to the heated crystals, and...voila!"

Here we go again.

"Gummy bears."

"Right," she said, sounding satisfied her student was finally getting it.

He reached around her waist and he kissed the back of her neck, she bristled at first. "Eric," she protested

"It just occurred to me that you are a real pyromaniac."

"Everyone's got their own fetish. What can I tell you?" She guided his hands away. "I think I want to take a walk outside, now. I'll show you around the trails." She reached down to an old dial under the countertop and turned off the pad. She'd have to reschedule her master class for a later time.

She led him outside, into the wilderness, the home heavily forested on three sides. One trail led them south, back toward the main road. Another led north, hugging a ridge where they took in fantastic vistas. His attempt at initiating a playful conversation with her failed miserably again, as the talk devolved into deep introspection, "So, besides blowing things up, what turns you on?"

"Like besides being here with you?" she quipped. "How about a cool breeze? That's what I remember most."

They came upon a rocky overlook of the valley. The western sky overhead was robins-egg blue, with no clouds to be had. The wind kicked up against the ridge. They found a shady patch of grass to sit, leaning against a rock formation. Kate set her head against his shoulder.

"What's your mom like?" he asked.

"Please," she moaned. "She made me."

"And who might that be?" Danny inquired thoughtfully.

He thought she might say, 'a fucked up drug addicted mentally ill bitch', but instead had to field another question thrown back at him. "Let me ask you something. Have you ever accomplished making a big mistake? That you could have taken another path and done something else that now you could look back and be proud of?"

Taken aback by the mouthful of philosophical proposition, he answered, "No, but I also think that it's never too late to change paths."

"I guess, but what if your accomplishment affected other people in a bad way and there was no way you could undo it?

"I think I'd have to work hard at doing something with my life that would be something positive?" He saw her wear a sullen and serious look. "What's this about?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Did you know boys didn't want to have anything to do with the science nerd with glasses?"

"Well, I think they were stupid to pass you up." He motioned her to sit between his legs then kissed the back of her neck and shoulders, ending all conversation. When he touched her, he found that her warmth had returned. The cool breeze was no match for the heat they generated. When she turned over on her back, she grabbed his hand at the index and middle fingers and guided them slowly to touch her. But something different happened this time. She took control, coming down on him, which he didn't mind at all, as the dappled sunlight shown through the trees.

Laying flat on their backs, they gazed up at the sky. The serene moment was interrupted by another buzz from his cell phone. At first surprised at the existing cell coverage, he read the incoming text, then rolled his head over to her. "That was a friend of mine. He and his girlfriend invited us out for dinner, tonight. Feel up to it?"

"Sure. Sounds great" Kate said with wide, bright blue eyes and a hopeful smile.

Phase II was on.

Copyright © 2016 by Alan Field. All Rights Reserved.  

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