The Perfect Match
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“I’m a copy and you’re a mutant. Birds of a feather flock together 38 , right?” he said with a smile.
“Different types of birds, but yeah, we are flocking together, aren’t we?” Lizzy covered Mark’s hand with hers.
Irene looked at her watch. “I’m afraid we should be going now. My associates are waiting for us. They are ready to start.”
***
Tom – who was waiting for them in the car – took them all to another location that was conveniently hidden in the depths of the park on the outskirts of the city. It took them one hour to get there during which Irene was chatting with Lizzy and Mark about everything but the purpose of their trip.
38
рыбак
“We’re here,” Irene said when their car stopped in front of huge green gates.
“The gates are big enough for the Jurassic Park,” Lizzy said.
“The person who used to own the place was, shall we say, a bit concerned with his security. He gave this place to us, and it’s been our research center for some time now.”
When the gates slowly opened, Tom drove inside, nodding to two guards in civilian clothes who nodded back. Lizzy notices that the guards were armed with automatic rifles.
The inside looked more like a recreational 39 space with a country house – which it probably was – with three smaller buildings. The main building – a big hunting lodge 40 – could have been designed for a royal family and its entourage. The first floor was built with big soft beige stones and the second floor sported large brown pine logs. The attic of the building was under a steep tiled roof with a big, red-bricked chimney 41 that suggested a fireplace. The three other buildings – perhaps, guest houses and space for staff- were designed to complement the main building. The whole ensemble provided a sense of comfort and a feeling of rustic nobility 42 with its earthy tones. The area was covered with evenly trimmed grass and stone trails that connected each building on the premises. There were no people outside, except for the guards at the gate.
39
пространство для отдыха
40
охотничий домик
41
дымовая труба
42
деревенская знать, дворянство
Tom pulled over in front of the main entrance of the house and helped Irene get out of the car. Not that she needed any assistance, but it was a gesture of respect.
“It’s spacious,” Mark said when he got out of the car, right after Lizzy.
“We’re happy with it,” Irene said and showed them into the house.
As they were getting closer to the house, the massive wooden entrance door opened and a young spectacled man in his 40s with a beard and in a white doctor’s coat came out to greet them.
“This is Max,” Irene introduced the man. “He’ll be working with you today, Lizzy.”
“Hi Lizzy and Mark,” Max said. “It’s great to finally meet you both. Please, come in.”
The entrance hall was what one would expect from a hunting lodge – the walls covered with antlers 43 and a few paintings of hunting dogs. The comparisons ended as soon as they proceeded to the former living room, which was turned into a laboratory with different equipment that neither Lizzy nor Mark knew the purpose of. Ther were two female lab assistants who were busy looking into the microscopes and computer screens and barely 44 noticed the visitors.
43
оленьи рога
44
едва, только, лишь, еле-еле
“This is our team and the place of business, so to speak 45 ,” Max said. “I’m afraid I’ll have to steal Lizzy from you, Mark, for the rest of the day.”
“There’s a nice room upstairs where you’ll be quite comfortable,” Irene told Mark.
“Yes, there are books, a computer, snacks and a fridge with beverages,” Max added enthusiastically.
Lizzy looked at Mark who didn’t look like he liked the idea of being away from her. “I’ll be fine. Go get some rest.” Then she looked at Max. “I’ll be allowed bathroom breaks, won’t I?”
45
так сказать; если можно так выразиться
“Oh, sure. Of course. There’ll be lunch and dinner.”
“You see?” Lizzy took Mark’s hand. “I’ll see you later.”
***
Lizzy came to see Mark twice during the day. They had a quick lunch from plastic containers that were brought up by Max. It was simple – turkey sandwiches with some salad – but delicious. After five hours, which Mark spent watching two old movies – Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Godfather, Part 1 – and browsing through some old magazines, they had another plastic container meal. Chicken pasta and cheesecake. Not the Michelin star quality, but passable 46 . Lizzy did not have enough information to tell Mark what exactly she was doing downstairs, or, rather, what they were doing to her. They spent the minutes they had together comparing Indiana Jones to Tom Lesseck the adventurous geologist and Michael Corleone to Paco De Niro, the cold-blooded mafia boss (the fictional characters from the other world). Lizzy promised to watch the movies Mark grew up with the next time they would be in the Two Moons.
46
сносный, проходимый, удовлетворительный
At about 10 pm, Lizzy came up and woke up Mark who apparently found The Sleepless in Seatle too relaxing. Tom was waiting for them downstairs. Lizzy was tired and took a nap all the way back to their cottage, resting her head on Mark’s shoulder. Mark sat without moving, watching the stars through the car window. When they got home, she was still asleep, and Mark took her gently in his hands to the bedroom and covered her with a blanket. When Mark returned to the car to get their coats, Tom told him that he would pick them up at 8 am tomorrow night from the same spot and left. Mark went back to the bedroom, lay down next to Lizzy and watched her peacefully sleeping with a smile on his face before falling asleep as well.
***
The next day went pretty much the same way. Tests for Lizzy and cultural catching-up for Mark (The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Good Will Hunting, and Pulp Fiction). When it was time to call it a day, Max showed Lizzy a prototype that they had been working on before she went upstairs to get Mark.
“It looks like a regular sports glove,” she said, looking at it.
“That’s the idea,” Max was obviously happy to hear it. “We don’t want people to think that they are looking at a weapon.”
“Is that what it is? A weapon?”
“Of sorts, sure. It’ll be using your blood to destroy the virus.”
“How will it work? I’ll just wear it and what will happen next?”
“The idea is for you to use it without spilling your blood literally, but sending impulses that destroy the virus even through glass. Provided, it’s not bulletproofed, of course.”
“I don’t think I understand that.”
“It sounds a bit science fiction, I know,”
“A bit?”
“You’re right,” Maz laughed. “It sounds a lot like science fictions, but we believe that we’ve found a way to use your blood unique qualities and transform them into, sort of, waves that could penetrate the virus coat, or membrane, split it apart and eventually destroy its molecular compounds. The glove generates the wave and sends it, together with your blood, to do its job.”