The Blue Tiger

Lucie Davis was no ordinary girl. She was--in a word--an individual. It was the 1960's and she was surrounded by so-called individuals, but unknown to her, she was perhaps the only unique one. Becky's wardrobe was a fitting match to her personality. She wore the most bizarre outfits she could find or create. And the oddest thing was that she didn't do to show off or to attract attention; she did it because she wanted to, because it felt natural and made her happy. Lucie craved excitement more than anything. Between school and her work at the Dairy Queen she was busy enough, but her life still seemed to lack something. Then one day, by a strange twist of fate her life changed drastically. Whether it changed for better or worse is a matter of opinion, but nevertheless, change it did.
The morning of September 23, 1967 dawned like any other. There was a slight chill in the air that gave Lucie an odd feeling. Watching some birds fly overhead on her way to school seemed to articulate this feeling even further. It was almost a feeling of nostalgia, as if she had lost something very important and could not remember what it was. The day at school seemed to drag on and on. Finally, as she watched the birds outside the window making their way southwards, it became unbearable. She quietly got out of her seat and walked out the door. Mrs. Grove, her 12th grade biology teacher, was too involved in photosynthesis to notice.
Lucie smiled as she breathed the fresh air outside the school. "This is life," she thought to herself. "You'd never find this in a classroom." She made her way to the park in the center of town and sat down on a bench. She watched a few squirrels chase each other around a tree and sighed. What was the point? How could she possibly find excitement in such a small town? Suddenly she felt someone standing behind her. He was tall, handsome, with a dark complexion. He wore a black overcoat and hat and his eyes seemed to transfix her. He seemed to carry an ominous atmosphere with him, and he made the bright park seem cold and gloomy. They stared at each other for a few seconds, both surprised and intrigued. Then he spoke. His voice had a faint trace of a Russian accent.
"I was expecting someone… taller." He said in a low voice.

"And I was expecting someone shorter," she returned cheerfully. "Who are you?"

"A friend. Agent Heggerty has been terminated. I'm your new contact. You may call me Agent Raskolnikov."

Lucie blinked, then blinked again. "Who is this guy and why does he sound like a bad episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents?" she asked herself. Out loud she said, "Who are you? Some kind of Dick Tracy freak?"

The man looked at her. "You are agent Blue Tiger, aren't you?"

Lucie gave him a look. "No," she said half-smiling as she slowly backed away. "My name is Lucie and I don't know what you're talking about."

The man glared at her. "Where is agent Blue Tiger?" he demanded.

Lucie decided that this wasn't funny anymore. She started to run. Then she felt a small prick on the back of her neck before she crumpled to the ground.

When she awoke her head was throbbing, though thankfully she was somewhere dark… dark and cold. It felt like a cellar. Her hands and feet were bound and her mouth was gagged. She tried to struggle, but it was useless. Just as she was beginning to wonder if there were rats in this basement, she heard footsteps coming down a set of stairs, and someone shone a bright light in her face. Lucie winced in pain. A female voice began talking in what sounded like Russian, and there was a male voice as well… the man from the park. The woman seemed to be yelling at the man and he seemed angry. Then the woman moved into the light and removed the gag from Lucie's mouth. Lucie glared at her. She was very pale and skinny, and she wore a red dress with a black belt around her waist. Her hair and eyes were dark and overall she seemed almost evil.

"Who are you people?" Lucie asked.

"Ah, the question is," the woman responded gently, "Who are you? And I suggest that you answer the question because we have very effective means of making you talk."

Lucie didn't like the idea of giving these creeps her real name. "Becky Vincenti," she answered, and immediately regretted it. It sounded too made-up.

"You're lying!" shouted the woman. "Tell us your name and who you work for NOW!"

Lucie sighed, "My name is Lucie Davis, and I work for the Dairy Queen."

"Well where did you get that red cap?" the woman asked angrily.

Lucie thought for a moment. "I think it belonged to a great aunt or something. I have a lot of hats you know." The woman turned to the man and began to talk in Russian again. Lucie sighed. "Listen, who are you people?" she asked. "And what am I doing here?"

The man from the park stepped out of the darkness. Here in the cellar his gloominess seemed intensified. "Well, since you're going to die, we might as well tell you. My name is Boris," he said. "And this is Xenia. We are Russian spies on a top-secret mission here in North America. You are here because of an unfortunate mistake. Our contact was supposed to wear a red cap, but we now know that he was killed yesterday morning by French agents who had been tipped off by my predecessor."

"Of course," Xenia interrupted, "standard procedure is that you confirm a contact with the secret phrase, but apparently Boris here forgot." She glared at him and he began to assail her again in Russian.

"Wait a minute!" Lucie shouted above the din. "What's going to happen to me?"

"This is your problem Boris," said Xenia. "You fix it." She then handed him a rifle that was propped up against the wall, and proceeded up the stairs. Boris looked at the gun and then at Lucie. "I'm really sorry about this," he said darkly as he raised the gun.

Lucie closed her eyes and heard the sound of the gun reverberate around the room. Then she slowly opened her eyes. "I'm not dead!" she said incredulously.

"Shhhh!" he commanded her as he untied her hands and feet. "You are as far as Xenia knows. Now lie there quietly until she gets here."

They waited a few minutes until the cellar door opened, and Xenia descended the stairs. "I reported the incident to our supervisors," she said dryly. "Is it done?" she asked as she leaned over Lucie's body.

"Yes," Boris said as he pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through Xenia's scull and the shrapnel shredded her face. Lucie screamed and quickly ran to the stairs. "Why?" she asked in horror.

Boris seemed indifferent. "I'm a double agent," he explained as he untied Lucie. "She was beginning to grow suspicious." Lucie stared at him. He merely continued. "But the question I must ask you now is, will you help me and your country? Or do I have to…terminate you as well?"

Lucie slowly responded, "What do you want me to do?"

Boris answered, "Xenia and I are…were under deep cover, and few knew her identity. It should be an easy matter to return her body to our supervisors claiming it is yours, leaving you free to impersonate her until I complete my mission."

Lucie took a deep breath. "I… well…This is too much for me," she decided. "Who's going to believe that I am a spy?"

Boris gave her a look. "Spies aren't supposed to look like spies," he said disparagingly. "And besides, most of the people we meet aren't supposed to think you're a spy anyway." "But…"Lucie began, then sighed. "This is crazy." "Perhaps," said Boris, "but give me your answer because we've got a lot of work to do, starting with getting you some new clothes." Lucie looked down at her blaze orange jacket, flowered skirt and oversized work boots. "What's wrong with my clothes?" Boris looked at her with a cynical smile. "You're joking, right? Spies are supposed to blend in, not stand out." "I'm not the only one who dresses this way..." she said. "Up here you are," he replied. "Where's here?" "The Northwest Territories, Canadia." "What? How? Why?" "We're in Canadia. You were asleep when I brought you here; and because Canadia is a step away from Mother Russia and a stone's throw from the good old United States of America. A prime habitat for clandestine activities if ever there was one, and yet Canadia is almost never suspected of illicit activities. In fact approximately 80% of able-bodied Canadians are in some way connected to the so-called "Cold War". "Oh…" said Lucie slowly. "I see… Well, what exactly are we supposed to be doing here in Canadia?" "That information is classified on a need-to-know basis only. All you need to know is what I tell you which for now is nothing. You will however need to pick a code name for yourself. Perhaps…" "The Blue Tiger?" Lucie interrupted. "Yes, that will do fine. Now, wait while I go get you some clothes. Why don't you get something to eat upstairs?" "What about…Xenia?" asked Lucie as she glanced at the mangled corpse. "I'll take care of it," said Boris in a final tone. "All right," Lucie sighed then went upstairs. The first thing she did was find a window and look out of it. "Wow," she whispered. She really was in Canadia… nothing around for miles but a few trees. She wandered around what appeared to be some sort of Canadian hunting camp until she found a kitchen. She heard Boris dragging something up the stairs. She tried to concentrate on spreading butter on some bread she had found. The door shut and he was gone. As she began to slice some cheese she thought how utterly strange this day had been. She also thought about Boris. He seemed to be hiding something, she was sure of that. But still, he was cute enough and anything had to be better than being stuck in Mrs. Grove's biology class for one more day. Or at least that's what she had always thought. She ate her sandwich in silence, an immense silence, one that threatened to leave her all alone in the heart of Canadia without so much as a television or even a radio to interrupt her thoughts.N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boris hadn't returned by 10 that night, so Lucie decided to go to sleep. When she woke the next morning, there was a pile of clothes lying on her bed. "Disgusting," she thought, but she put on a pair of jeans and a "J'aime Canadia" T-shirt anyway. She walked downstairs to the kitchen where Boris was sipping his black coffee. "Its 8am already," he said handing her a cup. "I didn't know spies got up so early," she yawned. "Well we do," he snapped. "Now hurry up and drink that so we can get going." "Where to?" "To meet a contact who is supposed to give us the probable location of a secret laboratory where someone is apparently manufacturing a new weapon." "Probably? Apparently?" "Well, spying isn't always an exact science." "So what are we gonna do if we find this secret laboratory?" "It depends on who's running it and for what purpose." "Oh." "Now listen, if anyone asks, you and I are a French couple here in Canadia on vacation. Our names are Margarette and Claude Tremblay. Understand?" "Yes," answered Lucie, then added slyly, "Which one's which?" "Excuse me?" asked Boris. "Which one of us is Claude and which one's Margarette? Can I be Claude? Huh, can I?" Boris gave her a severely disapproving look. "Are you done with that coffee yet?" "Yes," she said putting down the cup. "Good," said Boris, "Let's get in Squirrel…" "What?" "The car…" "You said 'Squirrel', I heard it distinctly." "Well, our scientist's nickname for the car was Squirrel." "Why?" "Well, I suppose our scientists have a rather annoying habit of being overly facetious. Besides, the original prototype was designed to climb trees." "Oh," said Lucie with a knowing smile. "Well," said Boris obviously trying to impress her. "It can glide too." "Hmmm," said Lucie as if she had seen hundreds of gliding cars before. "Very interesting." Boris scowled. "Now, can we go?" "Sure," said Lucie, "I call shotgun." Boris gave her a look. "Come on…" he growled. ~~~ Two hours later they were sitting in silence in the 'squirrel'. For two hours Lucie had seen nothing but tundra interrupted by an occasional tree or bush. Just as she was considering starting a conversation with this cold block of stone sitting next to her, they saw something shimmering in the distance. "Only gas station within 100 miles," said Boris. "Squirrel uses gas?" asked Lucie. Boris gave her a look. "Unleaded", he said. "But we're meeting our contact here. As they approached the station, they saw what appeared to be a person standing by the road. "Wonder who that is…" Lucie wondered aloud. "I don't know," said Boris slowly. As they drove by Lucie caught a quick glimpse of what appeared to be a hideously deformed man. "Did you see that?" she asked Boris. "Yes," he replied coldly and he appeared to be deep in thought. When they got to the gas station there was no one around. They got out of Squirrel and walked inside. It wasn't what Lucie had been expecting. There was a plush blue carpet and tables lining the walls. A short man with strong Italian features leaned against a counter on the far side of the room. He looked at them warily. "Can I help you?" he asked. Boris smiled. "Is this the Three Brothers' Canadian gas station?" "The one and only," the man replied with a hint of a smile. "And I'm Little Toni. Do you need filled up?" Boris gave the man a sly look. "Actually we came here for something else… something not exactly in the guidebooks…" Little Toni returned his sly look. "Oh, are you perhaps looking for some gambling? Entertainment of some sort? Do you have an associate you need out of the way in a hurry?" Boris sighed. "Do the words "Project Doomsday" ring a bell?" The short man grew very angry. "Why? Why?" he shouted. "Why did we have to get mixed up in all this doomsday business? Doesn't anyone believe in good old fashioned murder-for-hire anymore? I didn't get into this business to be a super villain you know." "So you have heard of the project then?" Boris asked cautiously. "I have," replied Toni, "and I wish I hadn't." "Boris!" Lucie gasped. "Look out!" The creature from the road had come in the door and was moving towards Boris. Now Lucie could see that it was not a deformed man at all but some sort of hideous creature. "There you see what comes of science," sighed Toni. "Destroy them please Moose," he commanded the creature with a wave of his hand. Lucie gasped as the creature reached its mangled paws towards her. This was not the way she had expected to die. As the thing's fingers closed around her neck, she tried to let out a scream, but it was impossible. Blackness soon surrounded her. ~~~ When she awoke she seemed to be in another pitch-black cellar. "Not again," she groaned. "Rebonjour, ma cherie," said a voice beside her. "Boris?" she asked. "Oui," he said dryly. "What happened? I thought I was dead… I'm not dead am I?" "No," said Boris slowly and Lucie thought she could almost hear a note of concern in his voice.. "You're not dead. I thought you were though… You blacked out and then the second brother came in the door and Toni called off that Moose thing. He pointed a gun at me and told me carry you downstairs." Lucie chuckled, "Well, isn't this cute?" She stood up slowly. "Oh la la." She stumbled forward into the dark. "It's no good," said Boris. "There's no windows, no vents, and the door is made of metal." "Oh, said Lucie as she walked a few feet further. Suddenly she hit the wall. "Ouch!" she cried. Boris sighed. She continued to edge along the wall until she got to the corner. "Aha!" she exclaimed as she flipped on the light switch. A dim light showed that they were in a musty basement filled with all sorts of various junk. Boris was sitting against an old barrel. His clothes were disheveled and his hair was tousled. Seeing him like that made her grin. "What?" he asked giving her that look that she was becoming accustomed to. "Nothing." she smiled. He stood up and began to examine his surroundings. The short Italian man came down the stairs carrying a machine gun. "Awake now?" he asked with a grin. Boris scowled at him. "What do you want from us?" he demanded. The small man smiled. "You should be happy you aren't dead. However I've decided that I need some information from you. Just tell me who you are and what you are doing here." Boris smiled back. "We're here for the view. My wife and I just love rustic gas stations…" "Oh," the man chuckled. "I bet you are. I bet that you're not Russian spies here to ruin our plan." "Plan, what plan?" "Oh, wouldn't you like to know. By the way what do you know about project Doomsday?" "Oh, its just a name I picked up at a truck stop a while back." "You're lying!" the man scowled. "Yes," said Lucie getting into the spirit of things, "I must apologize for my husband here, he tends to make up stories. The truth is that we read about it off the back of a cereal box in Monte Carlo." Boris gave her a look but she could tell he was suppressing a smile. The Italian man grew angrier. "I really don't care for these lies," he said in an offended tone. "I know that you are spies and I know that you came here to meet my brother. Well, unfortunately for you, my brother thinks you're robbers. He's not very smart you see. Believe me, it was only his appearance that prevented your deaths the previous time, and if you will tell me nothing…" As he was talking, Boris was exchanging glances with Lucie who was still standing by the light switch. When he stopped, Lucie quickly turned off the lights and dived out of the way. A shot rang out and then there were sounds of a scuffle. "Turn the lights on!" Boris cried. Lucie did and saw that Boris had the gun pointed at the small man. "Alright," Boris said with a smile, "Now why don't you tell me all you know about this Project Doomsday?" The man looked at him in disdain and spat in his face. Then there was a sound from upstairs. "Here," said Boris handing Lucie the gun. "Take him to that far corner, and if he makes a sound, shoot him." Lucie knew Boris wasn't joking, so she tried to act as menacing as possible. "Come on," she growled. The small man did as she said, and just as they got out of sight, the door opened. Boris was standing at the bottom of the stairs. A large Italian man slowly descended the stairs. "Toni?" he called in a deep slow voice. "Li'l Toni?" When he reached the bottom and saw Boris standing there, he let out a cry, "Robbers!" "No," said Boris slowly. "I'm a friend. I've come to talk to you about Project Doomsday." The man shook his head. "Robbers!" he said again and swung his giant fist at Boris. Boris jumped out of the way and backed up. The big man swung again. Seeing there was no dissuading him, Boris picked up an old paint can, and hit the man on the back of the head. The big man lurched, then regained his balance and turned around. Boris swung again with the can, but this time the giant caught it and pulled it out of Boris's hands. Boris jumped to the side, then gave him a kick to his groin area. The man winced but quickly recovered. Boris reached into his shoe to pull out a knife, but before he could use it, the man grabbed his arm, held it, and twisted it behind Boris's back making him drop the blade. Boris let out a cry as the man suddenly lifted him into the air. At this, Lucie got up from her hiding place. "Move!" she growled at Little Toni. Once they were in plain sight she yelled, "Let him go or your little brother gets it!" She pointed the gun to Toni's head. The big man looked at her in terror. "Don't hurt him!" he said putting Boris down gently. "Good," said Lucie smiling, "now Boris, will you please tell him what's going on?" Boris slowly picked himself off the floor and asked the big man something in Russian. The man responded and they conversed for several minutes. Afterwards, the big man turned to his little brother and asked with a sad face, "Were you lying to me?" Little Toni looked guilty. "Now Toni, I wouldn't say lying exactly…" Lucie pushed the gun to his forehead. "Alright, yes, I lied," he said darkly, "and I'm sorry." The big man smiled. "I forgive you," he said happily and then he went over to his brother and hugged him. Lucie gave Boris a look. "Well?" she asked. "Well, this is Big Toni, our contact. Apparently Little Toni here works for the Americans," Boris said with an almost invisible wink. "whereas Big Toni works for our government." "I see…" said Lucie slowly. "Now what are we going to do with the little one?" "Well, that depends on him." Boris gazed sternly at Little Toni. "I actually think that our goals our not that different. Neither of us would care to see the world destroyed by someone's megalomania." Little Toni grimaced. "Yes," he muttered. "I suppose I'll even cooperate with the Russians rather than let my brother carry out his plan. "Your brother?" asked Lucie. "Yes," said Big Toni, "He's evil." "Absolutely evil." Added Little Toni. "Well, what is this plan?" asked Boris. "We were told that someone in this area was manufacturing a deadly new weapon." "That's right," said Little Toni, "and that someone is none other than my brother…" "Medium Toni?" asked Lucie with a grin. Boris gave her a look. "Johnny," answered Big Toni. "What exactly is this new weapon?" asked Boris seriously. Little Toni sighed. "A robot, a killing machine. And not just one, but hundreds, even thousands of them." "Where would he get the money for something like that?" Lucie asked. "Well, you see he, and I, and Big Toni here make up what is known as the Canadian Mafia." Lucie and Boris gasped. "Not the Canadian Mafia? "The same," Little Toni replied. "You see, when we were back in Italy, we three brothers stole a rather large sum of money from a rival family, and then came to hide in what is probably the last country where they would expect us to hide. Anyway, through the years we have used this money wisely and have become quite rich. But Johnny was not content. He no longer desired wealth; he desired power. He wanted…he wanted to rule the world! And now I think he's actually beginning to achieve his goal!" Little Toni looked truly frightened. "Well, why not just ask us for help?" Lucie asked. "Ah," said Boris, "I think Toni here has a plan of his own." Little Toni smiled wryly. "Yes, my plan is the same as Big Toni's, except that I was going to steal the prototype for the Americans, whereas he is planning to give it to the Russians." "What prototype?" asked Boris. "Where is it?" "You don't know?" Toni asked in mock amazement. "I bet your wife here does." "Moose!" gasped Lucie. "You mean there are more… things like that out there?" "Well, not exactly, but something just as terrible." Little Toni responded sadly. "Why haven't you two done anything earlier?" asked Lucie of the brothers. They looked at each other. "Johnny is too strong," said Big Toni sadly. "He's always been too strong for us." "Plus," added Little Toni. "He controls Moose, and Moose is absolutely unstoppable." "What?" asked Lucie. "I mean, it seemed to me like you were controlling him pretty well earlier." "Yes, but Johnny can override my commands at any time." "Where is this Moose now?" asked Boris. Little Toni hesitated. "I'm not entirely sure. He's probably out doing my brother's evil biddings. He could be back at any moment." Boris thought for a moment. "How can we stop these creatures? Is there some central control center?" "Yes," replied Big Toni, "I can take you there." "And where is this Johnny" "Oh, I'm sure he's in his office gloating about the success of his plan," responded Little Toni angrily. "Well why don't we just go after Johnny now while Moose is away?" asked Lucie. Boris thought for a moment. "Do you think you could handle it Xenia, if Big Toni and I go disable these monsters?" "Of course," said Lucie. "I still have that gun." "Alright," said Boris. "Why don't we get going Big Toni?" As he turned to go, he bent down and whispered to Little Toni, "Give her any trouble and I'll kill you with my bare hands." "Goodbye Xenia," he said as he left. "Good luck," she replied. N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two hours later, Boris and Big Toni, having discovered the squirrel demolished, had left on foot, heading into the Canadian wilderness. Lucie and Little Toni were crouched in the attic above Johnny's office, slowly drilling a hole through the floor. When it was done, Little Toni put his eye to it and gazed down for a moment. Then he sat up and made a motion for Lucie to look down. When she did, she saw a beautifully furnished office with a large desk and a chair behind it. However, the chair was turned away from her, and all she could see was a man's knee, and on that knee, a purring longhaired cat. Before she could see more, however, she felt the gun in her jacket slide out, and Little Toni whispered, "Be quiet! Now turn around slowly and don't try anything funny! I knew you'd let down your guard sooner or later." Lucie did as he said, and found herself staring into the barrel of her gun. "Move!" said Little Toni. "Quietly!" he whispered. They slowly exited the attic and went into a spare room. "Now," said Little Toni. "There is no way that I'm going to let a bunch of Russians get a hold of a weapon like this…" Lucie smiled. "But we're not Russians," she said. "We're just pretending to be. "We actually work for the Americans." Toni laughed. "Ha! Do you really expect me to believe that? Now do exactly as I say…" "Well its true!" she interrupted. "And what are you going to do with me?" "Why, turn you over to my brother of course," he said smiling. "There's something I didn't tell you earlier. My brother's first attack is going to be on Canadia itself as a test. Once this is completed, the entire world will see his power and have no choice but to give him what he asks. But what he doesn't know is that as soon as he completes this, I will destroy him, seize the weapon and turn is over to the Americans for a very very high price." "You're as mad as he is!" said Lucie. "Not quite," responded Little Toni. "I do not crave direct power, that does not appeal to me. I merely want wealth, and I have logically determined that this is the easiest and best way to get it. All I need do is wait for a little while, knock off a couple family members, and then any country in the world would be more than willing to pay me an enormous fee for this wonderful new weapon." Lucie sighed. He was crazy. "Well, let's get this over with," she said. "Quite," said Little Toni, "Walk this way please." Lucie refrained from mimicking his duck-like walk, and merely followed him down the hallway to a large metal door. Little Toni knocked on the door and Lucie could see the fear in his eyes. A camera mounted beside the door made a noise, and then the door swung open on its own. The chair was still turned away, and Lucie could see the tail of the cat. She felt a dark fear in the pit of her stomach as they entered. "Well brother?" asked a voice that was not at all like the deep resounding boom she had been expecting. "I have brought you a prisoner," said Toni worriedly, "A Russian spy." "Hmmm," said the voice. "Why did you bring her here? Why not just shoot her?" Toni was trembling a bit. "She was not alone, brother. There was another man with her. Big Johnny and he were going to … the control center." "What!" cried Johnny spinning around. The cat raised her head and seemed to glare at the short man. "And you let them?" Toni was visibly shaken now. "I…I…I did destroy his car. I did do that…" "Never mind," said Johnny. "Go now and stop them. My plan is almost complete!" "Yes brother," said Toni hurriedly as he ran out of the room. The door closed behind him and Lucie was alone with the evil man and his cat. ~~~ Meanwhile, Boris and Big Toni hadn't gone more than half a mile into the forest when it started to snow. Both men were experienced enough in the northern latitudes to know that this snow would probably last for days. They looked at each other worriedly and hurried their pace. "How much further?" Boris couldn't help asking. "Not very," replied Toni in his deep slow voice. Ten minutes later, as the snow began to cover the ground, Toni held up his hand and said, "Stop. We're here."

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