CHAPTER 16
It was late that night before they had the serums combined and adjusted to what was their best guess of what the proportions should be for Angus. Kat had ground up the fetal dog brain tissue and added it to her serum in place of the fetal rat brain tissue, and she felt they were good to go.
When they finally gathered around Angus’s bed in the lab, just before midnight, he looked up at them and wagged his tail. His large brown eyes stared at Kat, almost as if he knew she was there to try to relieve his pain and suffering.
Kevin gently took his right leg and shaved a bare patch over the vein, then held the leg while Kat inserted the needle and emptied the syringe containing the precious serum.
When she was done, she leaned over and hugged Angus to her breast, her eyes filled with tears.
Behind her, Burton Ramsey cleared his throat. Even he was overcome with emotion at the tender scene before him. “Whatever happens, Kat,” he said, “it will be for the best.”
She gently laid Angus back into his bed and said softly, “I know, Burton. Thank you for agreeing to let me treat Angus with our serum.”
He reached down and patted her shoulder, then he turned and walked toward the door. “Be sure to call my cell and let me know as soon as there are any changes,” he said over his shoulder.
“Do you want me to help you get Angus into the car so you can take him home?” Kevin asked.
Kat shook her head. “No, I think I’ll just let him stay here for tonight. I’ll make up a bed on the couch, and that way if he needs anything in the way of medicine or chemicals, I’ll be here in the lab.”
“Would you like me to stay?”
“No, thank you, Kevin. If it’s all the same to you, I’d really rather be alone with my big guy tonight . . . whatever happens.”
In spite of thinking she’d never be able to get to sleep, fatigue overtook her and within an hour she was deep in slumber.
* * *
The next morning, she awoke to Kevin gently shaking her shoulder. “I think you’d better get up and look at this, Kat.”
She jerked awake, threw off the blanket covering her legs, and rushed over to Angus’s bed.
He was lying there, shivering and shaking and moaning, and most of his fur had fallen out and was on the pillow next to him.
“Oh my God!” Kat exclaimed, placing her hand on his muzzle. “He’s burning up with fever.”
Before Kevin could answer, Ramsey rushed into the room and over to the bed. He knelt and ran his hands over Angus, shaking his head.
“Do . . . do you think he’s dying?” Kat asked fearfully.
After another moment of checking Angus’s pulse and feeling his muscles, Ramsey shook his head. “I’m not sure, but I think he may be just reacting to a vastly sped-up metabolic rate. That would certainly account for the rise in temperature and the shaking.”
“That also might be the reason his fur fell out,” Kevin added. “The faster metabolic rate would speed up the hair follicles’ regular regenerative processes and increase the normal rate of his fur loss.”
“Hand me that blanket on the couch, please,” Kat asked Kevin.
“As high as his temperature is, I don’t think he needs a blanket,” Ramsey offered.
“I know, but it has my scent on it and I think it will comfort him to have it around him,” Kat said.
Sure enough, once Kevin wrapped the blanket over him, Angus quit shaking and panting and seemed to relax back against the pillow. Moments later, he was fast asleep.
“Good,” Kevin said. “The body heals best when sleeping.”
“Okay, everyone out,” Kat said, shooing them toward the door. “Check back on us after lunch, and we’ll see how he’s doing then.”
When they had left and the lab was again empty, she took the cushions off the couch, arranged them next to Angus’s bed, and lay there next to him, her hand on his flank.
“Sleep tight, big guy, and when you wake up maybe things will be different and the pain will just be a distant memory.”
* * *
Four hours later, Kat awoke to the feel of Angus’s tongue lathering her face.
She yawned, sat up, and blinked. Angus was standing before her, his hair fully an inch long now and coal black instead of streaked with gray. In addition, his flanks were slightly sunken, showing he’d lost his paunch. His eyes were clear and bright, and when he barked at her, the sound was higher and less gravelly than before. In short, he already looked years younger.
Kat’s eyes filled, and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him to her. “Oh, my big, handsome fella, you look so good!”
He licked her cheek a couple of times, and then he shook loose from her and trotted over to the table holding his dog food and stood up with his two front paws on the edge of the table and barked at her.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. “Oh, are you telling me you’re hungry?” she asked as she moved to fill his bowl.
He watched her intently, barked again, and seemed to nod his head.
Kat stopped and stared at him, then she laughed and shook her head. “No, it can’t be that you understood that.”
He barked again and dropped down to nudge his food bowl with his nose, as if to say, “Hurry up, I’m starving.”
Kat chuckled and filled his bowl, enjoying the sight of him gulping down his food with apparent gusto. It had been years since he’d eaten with such enthusiasm.
Moments later, his bowl clean, he glanced up at her and again nudged his bowl.
“Oh, you want more?” she asked, reaching for the bag of food.
Again, he barked and seemed to nod his head.
“Jesus,” Kat murmured as she filled his bowl. “Could the serum have already increased his intelligence this much?”
He stopped eating for a moment and stared at her, then he lowered his head and began to eat more slowly.
Kat set the food bag down and moved over to the phone on her desk. She dialed and then said, “Burton, you and Kevin need to come to the lab. There is something you need to see.”
When the two men entered the lab, they both broke into wide grins at the sight of the new leaner, healthier Angus standing over his bowl gobbling down his food.
“Is that the same dog?” Ramsey exclaimed, his hands raised to his mouth.
“You bet it is,” Kat said. “His hair is already starting to grow back without any gray, and it looks as if he burned off at least two or three pounds while he was sleeping last night.”
“My God,” Kevin said, shaking his head. “What a difference, and in less than twenty-four hours.”
Angus finished his food, moved over to his water dish, and lapped greedily at the cool water.
“There’s something else I want you to see,” Kat said.
When she had the two men’s attention, she turned toward Angus and said, “Angus, do you need to go potty?”
He stopped drinking and trotted over to the table holding his leash. He stood up on his hind legs, grabbed the leash with his teeth, and trotted back over to Kat. He dropped the leash at her feet, looked into her eyes, and barked while nodding his head.
“Oh shit! Did that dog just understand what you asked and then answer you?” Ramsey asked in disbelief.
Kat slowly nodded. “I think so, Burton.”
He shook his head. “No, it is much too soon for that. It’s just that he knows the word potty, and that is not so unusual for a dog to respond to.”
Kat pursed her lips. “You may be right. Let’s try something harder.”
She leaned over to Angus and said, “No, not me, Angus. Kevin is going to take you out.”
Angus looked from her to Kevin and immediately trotted over to stand before the young man.
“Holy shit!” Kevin said, grinning widely. “What do you think now, Dr. Ramsey?”
“I think Kat is right,” he said, staring at Angus. “The dog is definitely smarter than any other dog I’ve ever seen.”
“Well, the serum definitely made the rats smarter, and they were pretty dumb to begin with,” Kevin said, looking at Angus with wonder. “And Angus was already smart, even for a dog, so there is no telling just how intelligent he is going to become.”
Kat noticed that Angus’s eyes tracked from person to person as they spoke, as if he was listening to the conversation.
Kevin picked up the leash and fastened it to Angus’s collar. “Come on, big boy. Let’s go do your business.”
Kat moved to take the leash from him. “That’s okay, Kevin. I just said you’d take him to see if he could understand me. I want to stay with him.”
She leaned over and patted Angus on the head. “I’m sorry I confused you, baby, but I’ll take you out.”
Over her shoulder as she walked out the door, she called, “Kevin, would you fix me some coffee, please? We’ll be right back.”
When they got outside, Angus led her straight toward the grassy area where he always pooped.
At first, he sniffed around the area as usual, looking for just the right spot. Kat watched him absently, her mind roving quickly over the events of the past few hours, until she suddenly noticed Angus was staring at her expectantly. He barked and turned away to face away from her, then he looked back over his shoulder at her.
“What is it, boy?” she asked, and then it came to her. “Oh, you want me to turn my back and not watch you go to the bathroom?”
He barked again and continued to watch her until she turned around to face the other way.
“Oh Jesus,” she said again, “I can’t believe he is embarrassed to go potty in front of me.”
She turned just in time to see him lower his leg after watering a nearby tree. He glanced at her, then he trotted back toward the building, evidently finished for a while.
She noticed he no longer moved like a geriatric dog, but more like a two-year-old puppy. He didn’t walk so much as he trotted and pranced, as if to say, Look at me, aren’t I a handsome boy?
As she followed him back to the lab, she briefly closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer of thanks to God that He’d allowed their serum to work on her best friend.
When they entered the lab and she took off his leash, Angus trotted over to Kevin, and when Kevin lowered his hand, he licked his palm a couple of times.
After allowing Kevin to pat him for a moment, Angus yawned widely and moved over to his bed to lie down. He took the blanket with Kat’s scent on it in his teeth and pulled it over him, lay back, and was almost immediately asleep.
Ramsey and Kevin looked at each other and then at Kat, their mouths hanging open.
She smiled. “And that’s not all, gentlemen,” she said. “When we were outside, he let me know he wouldn’t go to the bathroom until I turned my back. Evidently our formula has made him a bit shy.”
Ramsey looked unconvinced. “Are you sure you’re not just reading more into things than is really there?”
Kevin shook his head. “I don’t think she is, Dr. Ramsey. Remember, dogs are just below chimps in intelligence, and chimps and dolphins are just below humans, and that’s without any artificial enhancement. If your serum does to Angus what it did to the rats, then I believe he will be right up there with an IQ about that of a young child.”
Ramsey frowned, “But—”
“No, Burton,” Kat interrupted. “I think Kevin is right. It has only been a few hours, and look at the differences we can already see in Angus. There is no telling how young and strong and intelligent he’ll be after another couple of days.”
Ramsey thought for a few minutes, pacing and rubbing his chin. Finally, he looked up. “I’ve got a camcorder in my office. It’s small and very portable. I’m going to get it and give it to you, Kat. I want you to video-document these changes in Angus’s behavior, especially the ones showing his increase in intelligence. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I don’t think anyone would believe what is happening if we don’t have visual proof.”
He turned to Kevin. “And since you’re now a full partner, Kevin, I want you to take Kat’s notebook and fully document everything we’ve done over the past day and night, including dosages and times and the changes that we’ve all noticed, like the hair and weight loss and the increased appetite and intelligence, and even the increased temperature, indicating a marked increase in metabolic rate.” He shook his head. “Though I doubt if anyone will believe us unless they see for themselves what a miracle this serum has wrought.”
Kevin grinned at the term partner and nodded his head. “Yes, sir, I’ll get right on it.”
Kat asked, “What about the rats we have left, Burton? Are we going to continue the experiments on them?”
He shook his head. “We’re through with rats, Kat, except as a false lead for the BioTech snoops. From now on, we are on to bigger and better things.”
“You mean—?”
“Yes, I mean our next step is to find a down-and-out human who is need of our assistance to lead a meaningful life.” He paused. “Of course, we’ll still have to mess around with the rats for a while, essentially showing poor results to our injections.”
“And just how do you intend to find such a person?” Kat asked. “Are you going over to the Fifth Ward and wander the streets looking for a homeless bum to experiment on?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve got a better idea. Sheila volunteers at the clinic at Ben Taub Hospital, where most of the indigent people go for their medical care. So, I’m going to follow your suggestion and fill her in on what we need and see if I can’t get her to find a ‘specimen’ for us.”
Kat smirked. “Good luck with that, Burton.”
He gave a wry smile. “Thank you, Kat. I’m gonna need it.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Captain Sohenshine sauntered into the lab without bothering to knock.
Kat looked up from where she was writing notes in her new notebook and frowned. She quickly shut the notebook and said, “Hello, Captain. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? I know the progress committee isn’t scheduled to meet for another two weeks.”
He didn’t answer, but continued to stroll around the lab, hands in his pockets, his beady eyes roving over everything with a suspicious glint in them.
Finally, when he got to the corner where Angus’s bed was, he stopped and stood there staring, stroking his chin. “Did your old dog die?” he asked.
Shit, Kat thought. “Uh, yes, I had to put him down. That is a rescue dog I got from the animal shelter.”
He looked over his shoulder at her and grunted, “Uh-huh,” with a skeptical expression on his face.
Moving over to stand in front of her desk, he said, “And how are your experiments going, Dr. Williams? Any progress to report?”
“Nothing earth-shattering, Captain. But you will have my full report prior to the progress committee meeting, and I will go into detail then.”
“Okay,” he said, moving around her desk and stroking his hand along her shoulders as he walked toward the door. “I do hope you have some good news for the committee.”
She stared at his back, openmouthed. Had he just come on to her?
Kevin walked into the lab from the dining room carrying sandwiches and chips for their lunch. “Was that Captain Sunshine I just saw leaving?” he asked, placing the sandwiches on her desk.
“Yeah, and he was acting kinda strange.”
“Oh, that reminds me. I was coming back from the dining room the other day after you and Dr. Ramsey had already left the lab, and I saw him sneaking out of your lab and locking the door behind him.”
“What?”
“And that’s not all. When I came into the lab, your laptop was still warm, like he might’ve had it turned on while he was in here.”
“That son of a bitch has been snooping around, trying to see what we’ve been working on,” she said. “I wonder how much he knows?”
“That depends on how much of what we’ve discovered you have in your computer,” Kevin said.
“Too damn much, I’m afraid.”