The Perfect Match

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Lizzy looked at the geography of the locations of the Dolion’s gang – that’s what she named it. No wonder they needed passports. It looked like they would have to do a bit of travelling.

“They have a few centers where they develop their new variants. Fortunately, we have our people infiltrated in all of them. Still, it won’t be easy to do what we want,” despite Yana’s cheerful demeanor, it was obvious what she was talking about took a lot of doing.

Lizzy checked the places they needed to go first. Those were two domestic destinations and did not even require travelling by plane.

“We are working on the way to use the uniqueness of your blood in, say, a less dramatic way. So, we will be meeting at some point soon to do some tests.”

Obviously, the news about how Lizzy got rid of Dolion, and his virus spread to this world as well.

Lizzy went over the highlights of the meeting in her head one more time: the gang was around the world, she will go through some tests, and they will travel. So far, things didn’t sound complicated. The thought was both comforting and disturbing. Today’s list of things was also straightforward[29 - простой]: they would go to a specified address, change cars and someone would drive them to a research facility the Committee had. They would take some of her blood and would do a few tests.

Her life changed so much over the short period of time. Those changes were making her a new person. She was not sure whether she liked that person, but she had to accept and embrace[30 - принимать] the metamorphosis to survive. She felt a pang of nostalgia for the life she had, and a tear spilled down her cheek.

“Should I make us some breakfast?” she heard Mark’s voice.

She wiped the tear, turned to Mark, and smiled. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

When she said that- just for a split of a second – she saw a man, standing behind Mark. It was the man from her dreams. She suddenly remembered that she had seen him again last night in her dream. She shut her eyes and opened them again. The man was gone.

“Are you ok?” Mark said.

“Yeah, just a …I’m hungry. Let’s eat already!”

They started to make breakfast together and the image of the man started to slowly fade from her memory. She could still remember what he was wearing though – a black kimono.

Chapter 2

Super Lizzy

The place they arrived with their new driver, Tom – a young man who picked them up not too far away from the cottage – looked like a regular bakery. There were some patrons[31 - клиенты, постоянные посетители] inside, enjoying freshly baked pastries and hot beverages. Lizzy tried to remember what day it was and why there were so many people out of office so shamelessly[32 - бесстыдно] enjoying this nice weather and this cozy place. She couldn’t. It didn’t really matter.

Any day you are alive is a good day.

They entered the place and approached the counter. Tom ordered three espressos to go, without asking Lizzy and Mark whether they wanted anything. Then he showed them to the table in the corner, next to a female customer who was reading a book. They sat down and waited for the order without exchanging as much as a few phrases. Tom was taciturn[33 - молчаливый, неразговорчивый] all the way to the bakery and didn’t seem like he was going to turn into a chatterbox[34 - болтун, говорун, балаболка, пустомеля] any time soon. So, Lizzy and Mark were just sitting and waiting for whatever was going to happen.

“Tom,” the barista from behind the counter announced. “Your order’s ready.”

Tom stood up, took the order, and proceeded to the exit, without returning to the table. Lizzy and Mark watched him with surprise. When they were about to stand up and follow him, a lady who was sitting at a table next to them turned and smiled.

“Hi Lizzy, Mark,” she said. “It’s good to finally meet you. I’m Irene.”

Irene was a white lady, about the same age as Yana. She had an intelligent face and looked like a university professor in her brown horn-rimmed glasses, a beige jacket over a white blouse. She was the second leader of The Committee.

“Tom is leaving and I’m afraid you’ll have to spend a bit of time with me now,” Irene said. “Would you actually like something to drink?”

Lizzy ordered a macchiato and a scone, which she had been craving for some time. Mark got himself a cup of tea and a chocolate croissant, which for some unfathomable[35 - непостижимый, необъяснимый] reason he had never had.

“How on earth have you never tried it?” Lizzy couldn’t give it a rest on the way back to the table.

“I don’t know,” Mark said, sitting down. “Let’s see if I missed anything.”

Irene was patiently waiting for them to enjoy their beverages and food with a smile on her face. Mark realized that he did miss a lot and announced that he was going to have a chocolate croissant every day for the rest of his life. Both ladies applauded his decision.

“Well, let’s talk shop[36 - поговорим о делах (прим. авт.: разговор на профессиональные, деловые, служебные темы)],” Irene said when the beverages and food were gone. “We’ll have to take a few samples of your blood and do a few tests. There’s this new technology that we’re still working on, but getting closer each day, that will allow us to eradicate any threat that viruses from the Two Moons may pose[37 - представлять].”

“The Two Moons?” Lizzy asked.

“That’s what we call the other world,” Irene said.

“Have you been there?”

“A few times.”

“How do you explain the very existence of it?” Lizzy asked.

“Without getting too deep into the parallel universe theories and trying to explain unresolvable metaphysical issues, I can only shrug and say there it is, and I have no clue why it’s there. Your father, though, spent quite a bit of time researching the phenomenon. I believe he shared some of it with you. I can tell you one thing though. I don’t have a copy there.” She ended with a smile.

“You’re unique then,” Mark smiled.

“I suppose I am, but we aren’t going to talk about my uniqueness today. You, Lizzy, have Ro subtype, which makes your blood very special because it can treat some blood-related disorders, but its ability to disintegrate viruses makes it unique. It’s something that we still don’t know much about, but we are working very hard to understand it. We believe it’s some sort of a mutation and we’re planning to make it work for our cause.”

“So, I’m a mutant,” Lizzy said and looked at Mark. “How does it feel to live with one?”

“I’m a copy and you’re a mutant. Birds of a feather flock together[38 - рыбак рыбака видит издалека (прим. авт.: люди одного типа или с одинаковыми вкусами и интересами найдут друг друга)], 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.

“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 - пространство для отдыха] space with a country house – which it probably was – with three smaller buildings. The main building – a big hunting lodge[40 - охотничий домик]– 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 - дымовая труба] 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 - деревенская знать, дворянство]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.

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 - оленьи рога] 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 - едва, только, лишь, еле-еле] noticed the visitors.

“This is our team and the place of business, so to speak[45 - так сказать; если можно так выразиться],” 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?”

“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 - сносный, проходимый, удовлетворительный]. 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.

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.”

“So, hypothetically speaking, someone will have a vial with my blood connected to this glove and do the job.”

“I wish it was that easy. As things stand now, I’m afraid it only works if you wear it. It must be connected to you.”

“Like Ironman’s reactor,” Lizzy said, still looking at the glove. “The proof that Tony Stark has a heart.”

Max’s face lit up.

“It’s more like a repulsar, but you get the gist,” he said.

“So, this is Mark I[47 - Прим. авт.: здесь имеется в виду первый костюм, который создал Тони Старк, вымышленный персонаж из истории Марвел про Железного Человека.] we’re working on, right?” Lizzy asked.

“Well technically, this particular prototype is Mark II, if we use that logic. It “flies” well, but it needs a pilot to navigate it.”

“That would be me.”

“Correct.”

“Ok, so, when are we going to take this baby for a spin[48 - протестируем эту крошку (прим. авт.: выражение take for a spin означает протестировать или попробовать что-то, обычно автомобиль)]?”

“We’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Big day, huh?” Lizzy said and gave the glove back to Max. “Should I eat something special or starve myself before the test?”

“Have your regular breakfast. We need to tune[49 - настроить] the glove to all possible situations.”

On the way back home, Lizzy suggested Mark watch all Ironman movies. It was Man of Steel in his world and the name of the superhero was Tim Scott. He was a member of the Punishers’ Club.

***

When Lizzy and Mark were getting out of the car the next morning, Irene came out of the center with Yana following her.

“Good morning,” Yana was smiling. “Good to see you two in flesh[50 - во плоти, в живую].”

“Hey, Yana,” Mark said. “Good to see you too.”

“I believe you’ve been briefed about today’s test,” Irene said, looking at Lizzy.

“Should I change my name to Tonya[51 - Прим. авт.: Лиззи пытается пошутить, имея в виду, что она как Тони Старк.]?” she asked.

No one got the joke. Either Lizzy wasn’t nerdy enough to pull it off[52 - преуспеть в достижении или победе в чем-то сложном]or it was the wrong crowd. She decided it was both.

“No need for any name changing,” Yana said, seemingly puzzled. “We’ll just see if Max’s idea actually works.”

“I hope it does,” Irene said. “Shall we?”

They all proceeded to the house, where Max and his team (Shawna and Tera) were as excited as little children before a birthday party. A special enclosed space was arranged for the test to make sure that no one gets hurt. There was a clear glass container with some vials containing viruses (not lethal ones). Lizzy was to wear a protective suit with electronic sensors for recording her activity and the impact the glove was going to make around her, if any. She would also be wearing a special mask to protect her eyes. Shawna and Tera were going to operate two video cameras to record the test.