By Paul Cwick

"Nick, I’m trying to hurry!" Greg half-whispered, half-screamed into the cell phone. "I know I’m running out of time, don’t you think I know that? Look, I can’t just leave the place looking like this; if I do, she’s gonna know, the minute she walks through the door, that somebody’s been in here! She’ll call the cops!" He paused. "Well, forget fingerprints! Point is, they’ll ask questions! And who do you think she’ll tell them is a likely suspect? Well, all right, then! Give me a chance to put some of this crap away! Okay, fine! I’ll call you!" He hung up the phone.

This is hopeless! Greg thought as he frantically tried to pick up the boxes, bags and containers from the floor and stuff them back into the closet. Even if I get this stuff put away, there’s still all the junk out in the living room and the kitchen… He shook his head in helpless frustration. It’s impossible! I can’t do it, there just isn’t enough time!!

Greg had given up trying to find Cat’s invisibility potion. He’d gone through her entire apartment, searching every nook and cranny for it, and couldn’t find any trace of it anywhere. He found what he thought were the herb plants she used to make the potion, but he wasn’t sure if they were the right ones or not. But as for finding the finished potion itself, stored in the tiny glass vials Greg had seen Cat use, he’d had no luck at all.

Now his main concern was simply trying to straighten up the mess he’d left from searching the apartment, trying to return everything to its proper place and restore the apartment itself to its former condition (as well as he could remember, anyway) so that when Cat arrived home, she would never suspect that anything was amiss.

However, this was a lot easier said than done. The apartment was such a complete mess that Greg really couldn’t be sure where anything was originally. And there was so much junk, too. It would take hours to straighten everything out. And hours he did not have.

At the moment, he was in the process of trying to return the contents of Cat’s bedroom closet, now scattered all over the floor, to its former location. In the process, he’d looked through most of the boxes, bags and other containers, looking for the bottled potion, but still it eluded him.

He then picked up Cat’s overnight bag. Like everything else, he quickly looked inside it and found it empty. He was just lifting it up to place it onto the closet shelf, when his grip on it slipped slightly. He didn’t drop it, but in slipping, its weight had shifted suddenly. As it did, Greg thought he heard a faint, curious sound come from within.

It sounded like a tiny plinking noise, like several glass containers knocking lightly together. Instantly, he froze.

* * *

Oh my God…oh my God…oh my God…Norma silently repeated to herself over and over. Perspiration flowed down her forehead and neck, carrying the heavy makeup she wore in cascading rivulets. Her heart was still pounding, and she had to struggle to breathe evenly. Ohhhhh, that was a close one, she thought. A close one! She removed her sunglasses and dabbed a Kleenex at her forehead and neck.

That psycho! she thought. To come out in broad daylight, in plain view of everyone and start swinging a bat!! That crazy freaking maniac!!

Fortunately, Norma found this hiding-place to park behind the liquor store, where she could just barely see the parking-lot of the herb shop across the street. She didn’t think she could be seen from here, and she silently cursed herself for not finding a less-conspicuous vantage point in the first place.

But if Cat did spot her here, and wanted to play games again, at least now Norma was ready for her; she now had a weapon. She hefted the tire-iron in her hands, as though checking its weight, and gripped it tightly with both hands, her knuckles white.

Okay… okay…okay, she thought, trying to calm down and bolster her courage. Now…the Volkswagen is still there, which means she must still be there; she hasn’t left. Okay… I think I can… She slid over to the passenger side of the van, changing her angle of vision slightly. Okay, I can just barely see the place from here…still can’t see the store-window though, dammit… I can see the front door…and I can see her car. Well, she’s gotta come out eventually… And when she does, I’m not taking my eyes off her! And if she wants to play games again, I’ll be ready for her this time…

She adjusted her grip on the tire-iron. Come on, you psycho, she thought, with her eyes riveted on the little shop across the street. I’m ready for you now…just try something again, just try it…! C’mon, I want you to…!

So intently did Norma maintain her watch on the little store that even the yellow pickup truck, passing close by, failed to distract her attention.

* * *

What was that? Greg wondered. I know I heard something! He shook the overnight bag. There was the sound again! He turned the bag over and over again, listening. He heard the sound yet again, louder this time. He unzipped the bag, opened it and looked inside a second time; it was still empty. But in turning it over, he discovered a curious fact he hadn’t noticed before: The bag felt bottom heavy somehow, as though there was something in it, even though it was clearly empty.

He examined the interior of the bag closely, and it was then that he discovered an interesting fact: the bottom of the inside of the bag was approximately two inches higher than the bottom of the outside. All of a sudden, it came to him in a flash: The bag had a false bottom!

Immediately, his fingers began searching the inside and outside of the bag, searching every seam for a weakness, a zipper, a snap closure, for some concealed opening to a hidden compartment he felt sure was inside. His fingers ran along one seam that appeared to be secure, until they came to a corner, which felt a little loose. He gripped the corner and pulled. To his surprise and delight, it came loose, as did one entire panel of the bag’s lining, with a loud ripping sound, as strips of Velcro separated from one another, leaving the hidden compartment wide open to his view.

There inside lay dozens of tiny glass vials, each one containing the familiar gray-green fluid. Greg let out a tremendous, laughing sigh of relief and triumph, his laughter continuing to grow in volume, until he had to remind himself to stifle it and stay quiet.

I don’t believe it! he thought in delight. I don’t believe it! But this is it!! I found it!!! I found it at last!!!

His laughter gradually subsided and he nearly collapsed in relief, still with a broad smile on his face. Because he had finally won! For the first time ever, he had finally beaten Cat at her own, sneaky, underhanded game. Not only had he achieved his goal in finding her potion, but in so doing, he could now deprive her of her unique power over him, and finally put an end to her reign of terror. He could now even use that power against her if he chose…maybe…

He looked around him at the ransacked apartment, but somehow it seemed less frightening now than it had only a short while earlier. Yes, he thought, chuckling. I can even deal with this now! I can deal with anything! Everything is going to be all right now! The battle is over…and I won!!

* * *

If he doesn’t get his butt out of there in the next five minutes, Nick thought, drumming his fingers impatiently against the steering-wheel, I’m going to go up there and drag him out!

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head back for just a moment. When he opened his eyes again and looked across the street, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was a yellow pickup truck, pulling up to the curb in front of the building. Oh, great! Nick thought. That’s all we need! I’d better call Greg & tell him to sit tight for a few minutes, until these bozos are out of here. The last thing we need is somebody spotting one of us going into the apartment or coming out.

He was just about to start dialing when he saw a familiar woman with bright red hair step out of the truck.

His mouth dropped open…and the phone fell from his hand.

* * *

"Wait for me," Cat said to Rain, then closed the door of the truck. "This will only take a minute. I just need to get something real quick. Then I’ll be right down and I’ll have you drive me someplace else, okay? Be right back." She turned and headed up the walkway to the apartment building.

* * *

Greg was just about to call Nick and tell him the good news, when the cell-phone in his hand rang. He immediately answered it.

"Hello? Nick? Hey, guess what! I found—" abruptly, his hushed yet excited voice was cut short. "What?!? She’s here?!? Well, why the hell didn’t Norma-- Oh, shit!!!"

Greg didn’t even bother finishing the sentence. Immediately, he sprung to his feet, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. He had to get out of there and fast! No way could he be caught in there by Cat! It was bad enough that she would see, the moment she came in, that the place had been searched; to be caught in the act was unthinkable.

Greg grabbed up the open overnight bag and bolted for the door, trying desperately not to drop it as he stumbled over the numerous obstacles that lay scattered about the floor. With his free hand, he grabbed up the canvas bag containing the potted plants and transferred it to the other hand as he ran.

Juggling the bags awkwardly with one hand and trying not to drop the contents out of them, he grabbed the doorknob with the other hand and flung the door open. He fumbled with the bags for precious seconds, trying to close and lock the door behind him. He finally managed it, and was just starting down the passageway to the stairs, trying to zip the overnight bag shut, when he heard the unmistakable sound of high-heels clicking up the hard concrete stairs. Greg froze dead in his tracks and his heart nearly stopped beating. Through the railings of the banister, he caught a quick glimpse of bright red hair moving upward towards him.

Oh, shit!! The panicked thought shot through his brain. Now what?!? The tiny glass vials in the bag jingled as his hands trembled in terror. Wait a minute…wait a minute…think…think… He struggled frantically to follow his own instructions.

Back stairs! The thought had barely flashed into his mind when he did a fast about-face and beat a hasty retreat in the opposite direction, to the far end of the passageway, around the corner, and down another passageway to the opposite corner of the building. I think the back stairs are down this way, he thought. Or maybe that’s the service stairway… Shit, I don’t remember…! Wait! Wait, there it is! Sure enough, he glimpsed a handrail for a flight of stairs leading down. He sprinted up to it and down the stairs, holding the banister with one hand while clumsily balancing the two bags in the other. If only he could zip the damned thing closed, then he could just carry it by the handle, but there was just no time! He had to get out of there! Now! His entire body trembled, and his legs threatened to give way. His efforts to hurry, coupled with his growing panic, began to affect his coordination.

He was only a few steps from the landing when he missed his footing. His foot missed the next step by only a couple of inches, but it was enough to throw his body completely off-balance, and in the fraction of a second, he was pitching forward, his head aimed directly at the hard concrete of the landing, his free hand grasping madly for a grip on the banister. For a few terrifying nanoseconds, he struggled to avoid breaking his neck. In the end, he was successful. His hand regained a firm grip on the handrail, and he managed to halt his headlong flight and regain his balance. However, in so doing, the two bags slipped from his other hand. They continued the flight down the stairs, only coming to a stop when they landed soundly on the hard concrete of the landing.

The pit of Greg’s stomach sank in despair when he heard the sickening sound of glass and pottery shattering.

* * *

All right, Cat thought as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. You want to play games folks, then we’ll play games! You want to play rough, then we’ll play rough! You asked for it, all of you! You just wait!!! You haven’t seen anything yet!!!

Cat was absolutely seething! It apparently wasn’t enough that Norma had damned near blinded her the other night. No, now she had to start stalking her as well! Who the hell does she think she is? Cat thought. And who the hell does she think she’s dealing with? Well, I’ll get even with them! I’ll get even with all of them! No way am I going to take this lying down!! No way!!

She pulled the key from her purse and jammed it furiously into the lock. Come on, come on, come on! She thought impatiently, as she tried to turn the key. But the key wouldn’t turn. What the hell is with this now? Cat thought. Dammit! The lock felt sticky, somehow, and just wouldn’t give. She finally wrenched the key so forcefully that she nearly broke it, but it finally gave way and turned. She flung the door open wide, stepped into the apartment…and immediately froze in her tracks. Her face fell when she saw what lay before her.

Her apartment was a mess! The furniture was overturned and thrown all around the room, kitchen cabinets stood wide open, their contents scattered all over the kitchen counter, floor and table. Drawers had been pulled and left open, their contents likewise scattered all over the floor and countertops. What the hell…?!?!? Cat thought in shock.

On trembling legs, she hesitantly stepped deeper into the apartment, to find new, equally jolting surprises. The bedroom, and even the bathroom had been similarly ransacked.

She felt a hollowness in her stomach, as though she personally had been violated. A sinking feeling came over her as she realized that she had been burglarized. She looked all around at the mess in all the rooms, the disaster-area that had once been her apartment. Her eyes then fell upon the set of shelves in the corner of the living-room, that made up her herbarium. There were several vacant spots on the shelves, where plants had once been.

"Oh, no!" she cried, when she saw the empty spaces. "Oh, no…oh, no, NO, NO!!! He couldn’t have…! He wouldn’t…! He wouldn’t dare…!"

She bolted over to the shelves, and examined them close up. A quick check soon confirmed her worst fears: among the missing plants were some of the special hybrid herb plants she used to concoct her invisibility potion. Some of the plants remained, but that was small consolation to Cat at that moment.

Cat’s eyes widened and a chill ran down her spine. Because it was then, at that precise moment…that she realized who had burglarized her apartment. Her hands clutched at her chest and she fell to her knees. She threw her head back and let out a great cry, of an almost inhuman quality.

* * *

Greg knelt down and examined the upturned bag. When he lifted it, he saw a mass of broken glass and a large, growing puddle of gray-green liquid. He opened the canvas bag to find a grimy mish-mash of shattered pottery, potting soil and tangled, twisted plant fibers, with a good helping of the gray-green fluid mixed in for good measure.

Oh, no! Oh, no!! No! NO!! NO!!! Greg cried silently. Please, say it isn’t so! Please!! But his silent hopes and prayers couldn’t undo the damage. He delicately probed at the glass and liquid with his gloved fingers, trying to scoop up and save at least some of the liquid, but it was hopeless. The fluid ran down the slight incline of the concrete and into the drain beneath the steps. And as he tried to scoop up the fluid, the broken glass sliced the fingers of the rubber gloves wide open.

I don’t believe this…! I don’t believe this! Greg silently repeated to himself, over and over, as though the repetition could somehow deny the reality of the situation. Tears of frustration rolled down his cheeks as he continued to probe the wreckage, as though trying to salvage it somehow.

He then noticed something curious. Wait a minute…he thought, almost afraid to hope. Wait a minute…! I think… No, no, it can’t be! I don’t believe it…I don’t believe it! As Greg’s gloved fingers continued to explore the mass of shattered glass, he discovered, incredibly enough, that one lone vial had somehow escaped destruction, and was still intact, its contents still stored safely within. He carefully extracted it from the mess of its shattered cousins, and slipped it into the pocket of his coveralls, zipping the pocket shut. It’s not much, he thought, nearly collapsing in relief. But it’s better than nothing!

Greg had no time to reflect upon his good fortune, however, as he then heard a loud shriek coming from behind and above him. Every nerve fiber in his body jumped at the sound, and the temperature of his blood instantly dropped twenty degrees. There was no doubt in his mind as to the source of the scream; he knew exactly who gave the cry and why. With no time to lose, he hurriedly tied the canvas bag shut again, and ran down the corridor to the rear of the building, leaving the soaked, empty overnight bag behind.

* * *

Nick slammed the car door behind him, and tried to cross the busy street to the apartment building, dodging the cars that sped and swerved past him, and exchanging obscenities with the drivers as he did so.

Damn this traffic! he thought. I can’t get across! I gotta distract her somehow! Create a diversion of some kind, and keep her away from there ‘til Greg gets out! I hope I’m not too late…!

He finally crossed the busy street and had just approached the walkway of the building when he heard a bloodcurdling shriek from above. He froze in his tracks, and moments later heard someone shouting his name. He looked to his right and saw Greg, emerging from the side of the building, clutching a canvas bag in his hand.

"Nick!" Greg called out. "I’ve got it! I’ve got it! Let’s go!" He made a quick gesture, indicating that they should return to the car and leave the premises immediately.

"Where the hell were you?" Nick cried when he saw his disheveled friend. "What the hell happened? Did she see you? Did anyone see you? What the hell happened?"

"No, no I’m all right, I’m okay! I gave her the slip! Now let’s get the hell out of here!"

The two men made a quick dash back to the little gray car across the street, jumped into it and drove off just as fast as its tiny engine could manage.

* * *

Cat knelt on the carpeted floor of her living-room, her face buried in her hands. Her entire body shuddered with sobs, as she half-wept, half-snarled in rage. Because she knew… She knew, with absolute certainty, who was responsible for her trashed apartment: The same one who had been making her life miserable for months on end now; who had nearly driven her to madness; who would apparently not rest until he had ruined every aspect of her life. It had to be Greg, she thought, it just had to be! He was responsible for everything that ever went wrong in her life!

Her thoughts were interrupted by a timid voice behind her.

"Cat? Are you all right? I thought I heard a scream…"

Cat raised her head to find Rain standing over her. Rain recoiled when she saw Cat’s tear-stained face. She looked away and only then did she notice the wreckage of the apartment’s interior.

"My God, what happened here?!?"

When Cat answered, her voice broke with emotion, as though it were about to fail her.

"I’ve been burglarized!" she nearly whispered.

Rain swallowed and her face blanched. "My God!" she said. "Do you think it…Do you think it has anything to do with…?" she couldn’t finish.

"Ohhh, I’m sure it does! I know damned well it does!" Cat’s demeanor changed in an instant from that of a violated victim to that of a predator stalking prey. She rose to her feet and looked around the apartment.

"Look at this!" she cried to Rain, although it sounded as though she were speaking to herself rather than to her companion. "Look at this! I don’t believe it! Whoever came in here tore the whole place apart, but they didn’t take anything! Look at that; the TV, the VCR, the Stereo, the Microwave, everything is still here. They just trashed the place! Just out of spite! That miserable, rotten, vindictive son of a—"

"We’d better call the police," Rain interrupted.

"Yeah," Cat said. "NO! Wait a minute, let me check around first and see if anything is missing. I hope he didn’t—" Her eyes widened and her face blanched in sudden panic. "I hope he didn’t find the… Shit!!" She turned and bolted for the bedroom.

"Didn’t find what?" Rain asked, bewildered, as she followed. "What are you talking about?"

"Go and wait for me in the car," Cat said, turning to face her. "I need to check and see if some personal items are missing. Valuable items. Not in terms of monetary value, but…"

Rain stood by, motionless.

"Go," Cat repeated. Rain made a slight motion, as if to head for the door, but hesitated.

"GO, I said!!" Cat cried, her green eyes flashing in cold fury. She waved an arm at her co-worker, as though shooing away a particularly bothersome insect. "Wait for me downstairs!" she said.

Rain finally saw the wisdom of leaving at once, and soon departed. Cat then turned and stepped into the bedroom. The closet door hung wide open, and the closet itself was nearly empty; most of its contents lay scattered all over the floor. Cat looked inside the closet and at the boxes and bags scattered about. Nowhere did she find the one item she was most concerned about: her overnight bag. That and the herb plants appeared to be the only things missing. Nothing else had been taken.

"Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!" she cursed. "He took everything!! Everything!! How the hell did he find it? How?!? Dammit!!" She then went on to curse loudly and profusely for several minutes. She then fell silent, as a new thought occurred to her, along with a very faint hope. Wait a minute… Maybe…maybe he didn’t take everything…maybe… She then turned and left the bedroom, heading for the kitchen area.

She strode over to the kitchen counter and pulled back the toaster, reaching around behind the microwave to the electrical outlet on the wall. She carefully pried the wallplate away from the wall. Both the wallplate and the outlet itself (which was false) came away, revealing a small hidden chamber inside, containing a handful of tiny glass jars, filled with curious-looking seeds.

Cat let out a sigh of relief. Thank Goddess! she thought. The seeds are safe! I can still re-plant! A faint, twisted grin briefly flashed across her face, gradually receding to form her previously-grim demeanor.

In minutes, Cat went on to check other, similar hiding places in other areas of the apartment, and soon recovered other small glass jars containing seeds and dried herbs. With each small jar she found, Cat’s mood improved slightly. Ha! she thought triumphantly, when she recovered the last remaining jar. That’s all of them! I can still re-plant and make more of the potion! It’ll take a while to regrow them…but I can do it!! A chilling smile played across her features. He thinks he’s Mister Smart; well, he’s dealing with Miss Smarter! She quickly returned the jars to their respective hiding-places.

There was now only one final hiding-place that Cat needed to check: the bathroom. She stepped into it and looked at the open cabinets and drawers, and at the boxes and other containers, now scattered all over the floor and counter. Unopened boxes of toothpaste, bath soap, cleansing lotion, and feminine hygiene products all lay about the floor in crazy abandon. Cat paradoxically smiled as she looked at them. Because she saw that, even though they had been pulled from the cabinets and drawers…none had been opened.

A brief, snorting laugh escaped from her when she saw this. Stupid, stupid fool…if only he knew… she thought. If only he knew…that it was right under his nose the whole time!

She knelt down and picked up one box of a feminine hygiene product, and tore the top open (which she had carefully glued shut after removing its original contents, and replacing them with her own items.) She upended the box, dumping out two tiny glass vials, wrapped in tissue paper, into her hand. She unwrapped the tissue paper; the vials each contained a gray-green liquid.

Okay, Cat thought. I was willing to forgive and forget… for everything! But not now! Not after this! This time, he’s really going to get it! I swear, this time, I’m going to kill him!

Her hand closed around the vials, clutching them so tightly they nearly broke. A tear rolled down her cheek and a broad smile appeared on her face. A quiet, sobbing laugh then began to grow from within Cat, bubbling up from her innermost depths, swelling in volume, until she was at last half-laughing, half-crying. She returned one of the vials back to the box and put it away in the cabinet beneath the sink, pushing it all the way to the back. Still making the curious half-laughing, half-crying sound, she placed the remaining vial in her purse, and stood before the bathroom sink, where she quickly washed the makeup off her face. When she had washed the last trace away and removed her earrings and other jewelry, she then turned and walked out of the apartment.

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