The scene was vibrant, the booze flowed and so did the conversations. Politics, culture, business and...sex...were the items on the social agenda. Everyone agreed; this was one of the best Kitten Club parties held at the Cuffe mansion.
"DRINK UP! TALK TO SOMEONE YOU'VE NEVER MET! THIS...IS A DREAMY...PARTY!" shouted Alan Cuffe to his assembled guests as he raised a glass of champagne.
"At least Alan's on good form" quipped one of the male guests, J. Huntington III. He was a relatively new member of the Kitten Club and already had his Gold Membership upgrade. J. was one of the types of young, ambitious and liberated young men the club was designed to attract and he found the heady mix of hobnobbing with businessmen, celebrities and sports stars exciting to be around. And then there were the women....not just the Kittens themselves but the beautiful people of Sim City as well.
J. was talking with Cuffe's right hand woman; Madelyn. She, in turn, was very interested in this young hunk of a man. There were plenty of empty bedrooms at the Cuffe mansion if things got spicy...
"I'm glad he's being sociable...he's had a few days up in his country cabin but all of a sudden he wanted to be here tonight." she said to J. "But enough about Alan, I'm interested in finding out more about you" she said, suggestively.
As Madelyn hung on every word that came out of J.'s mouth some of the Kittens had noticed something wrong.
"Tiffany...Alan's collapsed on the couch. Do you think he's alright?"
"I don't know, Yadira, he looks completely out of it. I'll go and check on him."
"Tiff...shouldn't we send for a doctor?" said another Kitten.
"I think there's one guest out in the garden who's a doctor, Skye" said Yadira. "Maybe I should fetch him"
"We should tell Madelyn as well" said Skye. "She'll know what to do"
Tiffany went over to the couch where Alan lay and crouched down next to him. "He's breathing, well that's good at least, but he's dead to the world for all intensive purposes. The music, the talking...we've got about 30 people here and he's sleeping through it!" she said.
"Normally he has great stamina" said Yadira. "Well...you know what I mean" she added, sheepishly.
"Yeah, we know, and we've all seen it close up in action" said Tiffany with a cynical tone to her voice. "Skye, let Madelyn know what's happened"
Skye trotted over to Madelyn and whispered what had happened to her. The older woman nodded and turned to J.
"I'm sorry, J, I have a little matter to deal with. I'll catch up with you later." Then she turned to Skye and said, quietly. "I need you and the other girls here to keep the guests occupied and distracted. I'll send Jenny to fetch Dr Lewis. Now show me where Alan is."
Skye pointed in the direction of where Alan was lying and Madelyn gracefully sauntered over to him, smiling all the while.
As Madelyn crouched down next to Alan she put her hand lightly on his shoulder to see if he was alright. He suddenly sat bolt upright, took a look around the room and blinked a dozen times.
"What? Wait...no! This is wrong! Stop it, Madelyn...stop the party! Stop the PARTY! STOP THE PARTY!" he cried. Everyone then stopped dancing and talking and looked over in his direction with the music still blaring out of the speakers.
Alan noticed everyone was looking right at him and his head dropped as sweat dripped from his forehead. "I....I....can't stand all this noise" He muttered. "I need peace...and quiet..."
Dr Lewis came rushing in from the garden and tried to examine Alan but he was brushed off. "I'll book an appointment with your secretary tomorrow, I promise" he said. "I need peace right now." The Doctor nodded and said, softly, to Madelyn that the party should stop and everyone go home so Alan could get some rest. She nodded.
"Sorry everyone, Alan's come down with an illness and he needs immediate rest and recuperation. Thank you for coming." she announced.
"I've never seen Alan like that before" said Yadira to Tiffany.
"This is bad...I don't know what's going on, but I've noticed something wrong with him for some time now. How this will affect the business and us, I don't know know" said Tiffany, ominously.
"Alan...what's wrong?" she asked.
"You know what's wrong. It's 'them'. Madelyn make a note of this...DO NOT WRITE THIS DOWN! I want all Lothario staff, including the Kittens, to undergo monthly blood tests. The results are to be known only by me."
"But, Alan..." Madelyn interjected.
"No. My mind's made up. Monthly blood tests. Including you and me."
"May I ask why?" she said.
"So we know who's real and who is one of 'them'" he replied, cryptically.
"One of them? Do you mean Nancy, Victor or Lily...or one of their staff?" asked Madelyn.
"No! You know, Madelyn. You know deep down...you've seen what I've seen. The laser, the bomb, that...woman."
"The mysterious one John Action called 'Leanne'?"
"Yes...she's one of 'them' but how many of them are there, walking the streets, watching our every move? Planning acts against us? Eh? And what's to stop them infiltrating my organisation?"
Madelyn struggled to see what he was driving at. "I'd understand things better, Alan, if I knew who we were dealing with a bit more. You seem to know more than me on that point."
"That's just it...Madelyn..." he said, tapping the bar with his index finger. "Once you know they exist...how can you go back to being normal? I've...seen things now...I know things....and it's hard to think of anything else knowing that they're out there."
"I see, Alan" she said, nodding. She didn't, except that he was clearly having a nervous breakdown. Sure, she'd heard rumours that the assassins were either a criminal gang or even Soviet agents but Alan was taking it to extremes the way he sounded. No, he wasn't their target and neither was she...it's unfortunate that Alan had stumbled on some criminal gang or spy ring. That's all. She'd look after him; she'd make the doctor's appointment and then probably send him back to the cabin for more rest.
In Madelyn's mind, Alan was overreacting to something that was perfectly rational but probably criminal in nature. She would sort everything out without fuss. Nothing serious to worry about.
