Remember yesterday when I almost walked out of the casino before the interview, afraid of the idea of having to be so small? Well, I went through a similar crisis the next morning. I didn't sleep well, having a couple of nightmares about giant hands grabbing and crushing me, and after that, I did NOT want to be shrunk again!
Still, it was my job, and it was important. Women were disappearing from this casino, and no one had the slightest clue what was happening to them. What was worse, we only knew about four of them for certain. There were hundreds of unexplained disappearances in the Las Vegas area over the last year, an increase of 250% prior to the installation of the miniaturizer at the Sidewinder. How many more girls had actually vanished because of the machine, if any, was still unknown.
So, with much reluctance, I forced myself to get up and head out to the casino. Fortunately, I was only working half-shifts for now, from noon until four. That let me get plenty of sleep that morning, and gave me more time than I needed to prepare myself (both physically and mentally).
On the way, I called Mark on the cell phone, to let him know he should get ready for another few hours of surveillance. I didn't really want to talk to him, because I suspected he'd make fun of me, but I had to check in eventually, so I gave him a call. "Hey, Mark, it's Kate," I said quickly. "Just letting you know I'm off to the casino, okay?"
"Come by before you go," Mark replied. "I need you to take a look at something."
"All right, I'm on my way," I replied, trying to hide my annoyance. I didn't mind the drive, I just wanted to limit my interaction with him as much as possible.
Now, let me try to explain. Mark Powers was a fellow agent and my partner, but I didn't really consider him anything more than just a co-worker. Certainly he couldn't be thought of as a friend, any more than my other associates at the Bureau could be. He was, however, something of a prankster, and like a lot of men, he thought he was a lot wittier than he really was. I was quite certain he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to make light of my situation at the casino.
The hotel where he was staying was run by someone in the witness protection program, so he made sure the Bureau got free rooms any time we needed one. It was a low-class joint well off the Strip, but it served its purpose, and you can't beat the price. I pulled up outside and went upstairs to Mark's room, trying to force myself not to sound irritated when I knocked and identified myself. Mark let me in after just a moment's wait. "What is it you needed me to see?" I asked. "We need to keep this short, or I'll be late."
"Take a look." Mark pointed at one of his computer screens, which was showing a view from my right eye as I walked around the casino floor yesterday. I frowned, not liking to be reminded about how I had to look up at everything.
"What?" I asked after a moment. "I don't get it."
"Look at how grainy it is," Mark told me, pointing at the screen. "This is after I had to re-tune the receiver."
"Yeah, so it's not that good a quality," I replied. "You can still see everything just fine."
"It's not that," he said, shaking his head. "I think it has to do with the fact that the eyecam and its transmitter were so much smaller. The transmission wavelength was compressed in size by a factor of three."
"Makes sense," I agreed. I have some basic technical knowledge, but mostly, I slept through physics classes in college. "You can compensate, right?"
"For now," he told me. "I'm not sure what'll happen if it gets any smaller, though. The wavelength might become too compressed for me to pick it up. It's not a problem right now, but later on, if they start, um, making you a lot er, smaller, I might have to move to a closer facility."
"All right, I'll keep that in mind," I said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get going." I started to turn towards the door.
"Wait," he said, interrupting my attempted retreat, much to my annoyance. "I wanted to talk to you yesterday," he went on, his tone changing so that he almost sounded a bit nervous. "You know I saw and heard everything, but watching it on TV wasn't anything like the real thing."
"Oh, come on," I replied, probably sounding a bit irritated by the line of questioning I could see was coming.
There was a pause, as though Mark were considering what to say next, then he finally spoke. "All right," he said somewhat hesitantly, "I'll just spit it right out. What was it like?"
"What do you mean?" I replied, knowing full well what he was talking about. If he wanted to be this nosy, I thought, I was going to make him as uncomfortable as possible while doing it.
"You know," he answered insistently. "What was it like being--you know, shrunk?"
I sighed. Of course, I knew he was going to ask that, just like I knew he'd report whatever I said to the rest of the office gang back home. "It sucked, okay?" I replied curtly, not really in the mood for this conversation.
"No, no, I'm serious," he went on, not getting the hint at all. "What did it feel like? I really want to know."
"Look," I replied, "I didn't like it at all, okay? You must have had some idea from watching the eyecam. I had to look up at everything and everyone all day, and people were always staring at me, like I was some kind of sideshow freak. I mean, everything was just so big! You just don't know what it's like to be one-third your normal size, unless you can experience it for yourself."
I looked at him then, hoping for some kind of supportive response, the kind of thing he'd say if he were a sensitive, understanding kind of guy. For the merest instant, I thought I might be rewarded, but of course, I wasn't. In fact, I got the distinct impression he was struggling not to laugh at me. Needless to say, I was not at all amused by this.
"God," he said after a moment, "I'd pay real money to have seen that!"
And so the real Mark Powers showed himself after all. I put my hands on my hips, for now I was starting to get angry. "I'm sure you would have," I replied, growling.
"Just think," giggled Mark, "Special Agent Kate McLeary, shrunk to less than two feet high! Oh, that's just too funny! And if you do really good on the job, they'll make you even smaller!"
"Yeah, it's a real riot," I replied, choking back several snippy responses that passed through my head. It would do no good to provoke him. He was just trying to get a rise out of me anyway. "Do you have anything useful to say, Mark, or can I get back to the case now?"
"No, no," he said after controlling his laughter. "Please, though, have someone take your picture for me! I've got to see you at that size!"
"If I do, will you shut the hell up?" I demanded, annoyed at myself for letting my anger get the better of me.
"Oh, sure, absolutely!" he replied. "I promise, we won't say another word about it. But I know you'll never give me a picture, so it's an empty promise. Hell, you even kept your eye closed so I couldn't see you in the mirror yesterday!"
"Well, I might surprise you," I replied, though I seriously doubted it. I didn't want copies of pictures like that making their way through the offices back at the Bureau. "Now look, I've gotta go. I don't want to be late my second day, you know."
"All right," Mark said, his tone becoming a little bit more serious. "Look, just so you know, I'm just kidding around with you. I know how important this assignment is. I'm just trying to make you feel a little less stressed out, okay?"
"Sure you are," I replied, shaking my head and wondering if he was really being sincere. As far as I was concerned, he'd already blown his chance to prove he had any real empathy for what I was feeling.
"Well, good luck," he said. "I mean it."
"Thanks," I replied sarcastically, turning to the door. I tried to focus on the assignment and forget his stupid comments. "I don't know if I'll be back tonight after my shift. I'll probably just stop in tomorrow morning, unless something comes up we need to talk about directly. The less contact we have, the better." Now that was an understatement, I thought to myself.
"Yeah, I know," he replied. "I'm sure I'll find something to do after your shift. This is Las Vegas, after all."
"Whatever," I said, walking out of his room and letting the door slam shut behind me. I'm afraid I was a little bit terse with him just then, but I figured he deserved it. Dammit, all he would have had to do was say something like "It couldn't be all that bad," or "You got through it okay," but instead, he just started laughing at me!
It was times like this I wished I didn't have a partner at all. This would have been a lot better if it were a solo assignment. Unfortunately, I needed someone around for backup, especially if whatever happened to the other girls happened to me. At this point, though, the thought of Mark coming to my rescue wasn't even all that appealing.
I sighed as I headed down the steps to my car, shaking off Mark's insensitivity as just another aspect of the male psyche. Besides, for all I knew, I was partly to blame. Above everything I valued my independence and self-reliance, and I know for a fact I tend to intimidate and overwhelm the men I had to interact with. I'm a control freak, plain and simple, and men just don't react well to strong-willed women.
That's what made this shrinking business so nerve-wracking. When they made me small, I suddenly wasn't in control any more. It was no wonder Mark thought it was so hilarious.
Thinking about it, I figured it was all the more important he never got a chance to see me like that.