Nerds Saving the World

Her Story

Q listened as he drove her into the more rural part of Mill Hall. Farms originally dotted this landscape. Some of it was preserved. Some of it just big houses on huge lots. Ten acres for zoning. He'd love a house out this way, but knew he'd never remember to take care of it.

No one followed them. The two lane road was empty, except for his van.

She directed him to turn down a driveway so long he couldn't see the house. He wound around old growth trees, then parked on a circular driveway.

What had Charlie been up to that they could afford this? The front door sat in the middle of the sprawling structures with columns holding up the roof over the small porch. Three dormers peaked out of the roof on the third floor on either side of the front door. Q estimated the house and land cost in the upper nine hundreds.

“Come in for coffee and we'll talk," she said.

When they reached the front door, she stopped. “The door's open."

She turned her big green eyes to him. He was completely out of his depth, well sort of. He hadn't been in any situations like this in years. “Uh, let's drive away and call the police."

She grabbed him with a manicured hand. A spark went up his arm, but he kept his expression neutral.

“No police," she said.

The situation wasn't simple. With Madison, it never was. Neither did Charlie make any situation easy to handle. He never wanted to get sucked back into their vortex. He'd almost been collateral damage. His heart certainly was.

He wished his co-workers hadn't been drunk. They'd know what questions to ask, what to do. They'd probably rush in and search the place.

He didn't even have his gun. Or did he? He shuffled his shoulders, but he'd remembered the holster and left the gun somewhere. Probably back in his workshop.

“No police?"

“Shouldn't you go in and check the place?"

Check? Him? Despite being trained in several martial arts, Q never used any of them. Well, not in a long time. He sat blissfully in his electronics lab, letting the other men deal with the dangerous stuff.

He took a breath and in a deep voice said, “You stay here."

Once inside the house, he searched for a weapon. He grabbed the poker from the fireplace knowing he could wield it as a deadly weapon.

Chairs were overturned. Drawers upended. The place was going to need a major cleaning. A whimpering sound came from what he thought was a hall closet. When he opened the door, he discovered that it was a bathroom bigger than his living room. With a maid tied up on the floor.

“They left," she said when he pulled the gag out of her mouth. “They left a message for the missus."

Her chest heaved and he could see that she had trouble catching her breath. He put a hand on her, not sure how much comfort he was giving.

“Oh? She's outside. You go see her."

With the maid dispatched, he searched the rest of the house, thankful for his morning jogging. The place was a McMansion if he'd ever seen one. No one lurked in any of the seven bedrooms or five baths. He finished searching a few minutes later.

Madison sat on the top step with her maid next to her. She held her head in her hands. “What has he gotten into?"

Q presumed she was talking about Charlie. He wondered at her surprise. “All clear."

“How bad is it?" she asked, her eyes turned his way.

“Not good."

He wouldn't lie to her, but if he could he would have spared her the sight of her ransacked house.

“Did you get a good look at the person or persons?" Q asked the maid.

“Nope. Bonked me on the back of the head."

“Oh, Eileen. I'll call the doctor."

The maid shook her head. “I'm much tougher than that."

“Take the rest of the day off. Please, can I call your husband to get you?" Madison said with genuine concern.

She must be nice to work for.

“No, I can drive."

"No, I'll call your husband if you won't. He should take you to the doctor."

The maid left to find her purse and wait for her husband at the end of the driveway.

“You ready?" Q said to Madison when the maid was gone.

She nodded, but took his hand even though he never offered it to her, gripping it as if he were a lifeline. He squeezed back to reassure her despite not really wanting to.

She paused in the two-story foyer.

“Oh."

“I don't think anything is broken. The place is just a mess," Q said.

Before she proceeded any farther than the front hall, she pulled out a cell phone. He stepped away to give her privacy. He never heard her story, but that would wait. He called into the office. No one answered. He put the night answering service on remotely than tucked his phone into his pocket. He'd give his brothers a few hours then contact them.

“Where do we start?" he said.

Madison finished her call while he was still on the phone. “We don't. I have a cleaning crew on the way. Let's check out the kitchen and see if I can make coffee."

He settled on a clean stool by a large island. Retrieving his phone, he tapped the note app, then he asked, “What message did they give your maid?"

Madison stopped in her coffee making. “That if I didn't give them what they want, they'd kill me, but not quickly."

Her cheeks reddened and her hands shook. Was he supposed to hug her, reassure her? He didn't know what was appropriate, so he did what felt right. He put his arms around her and she sunk into him. As if they'd never been apart. “I'm sorry."

“It would have been worse if you hadn't been here."

“Do you know what they want?" he said.

She pushed away from him, her eyes wide and unflinching. Her face looked almost too innocent, but Q never read people well. “I haven't the foggiest idea."