I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. The pillows were still mostly where I'd left them. My hope was they stayed that way all night and weren't just conveniently placed there after the sun came up. I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen looking for breakfast. I discovered Nate at the stove flipping pancakes.
"Good morning, sunshine," he said, putting the spatula down to come over and give me a kiss on the cheek.
"Food," I replied gruffly, going to the fridge, sorry Tabby, to get a glass of milk.
"You know me and Tabitha were just talking about how moody you are," Nate said as he retrieved some plates and started piling the pancakes on them.
"I'm sure that was a fun conversation. I don't believe I trust either of your opinions. She's an inanimate object and you're as dumb as a box of rocks." I walked to the dining room and waited for him to bring the food.
It didn't take him long to join me. "You know, if I didn't know you were joking, I'd be offended by that remark."
He put a plate in front of me and then took his own seat. He'd already added butter and syrup, so I dove right in. Us living together for so long had at least trained him on how I liked my food. It had also taught him that once I started in on a stack of pancakes, it was better to just let me finish, because no logical conversation could possibly happen.
After I finished, I sat back. "Thank you, I really needed that."
"I figured that much. You kept mumbling 'mmm, pancakes' in your sleep."
"I did not," I replied, grabbing my plate to return it to the kitchen. He was lucky I didn't throw it at his head.
"Okay, maybe you didn't, but they always make you happy, so I figured they were the right way to start the morning of your first big mission." He grabbed my plate from me and quickly cleaned the kitchen. He was a neat cook, who cleaned up as he finished with things, so it didn't take him long.
"I'm going to go shower. Do you think they have any special dress code I need to worry about?"
Nate was well aware of my aversion to dressing up. I didn't have more than an outfit or two that would qualify as dressy, and I had crammed them into my bag hoping they'd be too wrinkled to wear. Even if they weren't, the chances of me wearing them was limited.
"I figure it's a bunch of dorky scientists who are expected to worry more about what their brains can accomplish than what they're wearing. If you show up wearing a bra and panties, I don't think anyone would even notice. Okay, maybe the dorky, horny scientists would notice, so don't do that."
"Got it. Wear whatever I feel like and try not to entice the horny scientists."
I showered in the big shower for the first time. It wasn't hard to say I was in love. First it was the heated floors, then the shower. I wasn't sure I'd be able to leave the house when we were done with the assignment.
After I finally exited the shower, I did my usual getting ready for the morning routine of brushing my hair out. Makeup wasn't something I ever had time for, and I didn't want Nate thinking I planned on flirting with the scientists. He always got growly when a guy looked my way a little too long.
My attire for the day consisted of a pair of bootcut blue jeans and a purple top that said?Dear Algebra, Stop asking us to find your X she's not coming back.?As usual, even before Nate brought chaos into my life, I packed three knives into their hidden sheaths under my clothes.
Depending on my attire, I sometimes changed which knives I wore or where they were located on my body. That day, I went with my two thigh sheaths, which had convenient holes cut into my jean pockets for easy access, and my back sheath. All the sheaths and knives were styled so they weren't apparent unless someone looked really closely.
The back sheath actually strapped around my shoulder and hung upside down, so I could reach under the bottom of my shirt for easy access. It had a little locking mechanism that clicked when I put the knife in, preventing it from falling out. Out of all the knives and swords I owned, it was the biggest one I could wear hidden. Including the hilt, it was sixteen inches long and spanned the majority of my back.
Dressed, I left the bathroom, telling the shower I'd see it again soon, and made my way back to the bedroom. Nate was already dressed for the day, wearing a pair of khaki cargo pants and a dark blue, short-sleeved button up shirt. If the man wasn't so annoying, I'd admit he was sexy.
"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment," he said as he finished tying his shoes.
"Bah. Why do I always have to think out loud at the most annoying times?"
I walked into the closet and grabbed a pair of mule tennies. I preferred being barefoot, or if I had to wear something, I usually stuck with sandals, but I didn't know what to expect in the lab environment, so protecting my feet sounded like a good idea. I got a pair of rainbow striped toe socks from my drawer and sat on the bed to put them on.
?"So, how soon before you're ready to go, Peggy?" Nate asked.
"As soon as my shoes are on. I never asked, who came up with our undercover names? I'm thinking about asking for a refund."
If someone wanted to name me Margaret, fine call me Maggie, but why go with Peggy? It wasn't a sensible nickname. I had nothing against the name, other than the fact that I didn't feel like a Peggy.
"That would be me," Nate said with a huge grin on his face. "You always claim I'm annoying. I figured why not really be annoying for once."
"That figures. I know how much you like proving you're an idiot. Let's head out and get this first day over with."
I left the room and picked up the wallet with my fake identification cards. Nate followed me and we climbed in the Suburban. We made our way to the edge of town, where a large warehouse-looking building sat. I imagined, like the building I used to work in, the top was just a front for what was down below.
We pulled into a parking lot filled with small cars, as expected. Most of which were probably powered by things other than gasoline.
"I guess we won't have any trouble remembering where we parked," I said, crawling out of the vehicle. It was more like falling, but I didn't want to bring attention to me being a klutz.
"Hey, when they make an electric SUV or truck I'll be the first one in line for it. Until then, I like big vehicles." He came over to my side and took ahold of my hand.
"You had an Impala when you first visited New York," I stated.
"Yeah, but who in their right mind would rent a tank to try to get around rush hour traffic like that? I may not be as smart as you, Miss Genius, but I do have some common sense."
Ha, I laughed to myself. Hanging out with me tended to indicate a lack of common sense. I didn't point out that fact as he led us to the door. By that point, it would've been at least the hundredth time I'd told him.
When we entered the building, we came to a receptionist desk in a lobby. It was a little fancier than I was expecting. Behind the lobby area was a wall of smoked glass with double doors in the middle.
"Hello and welcome to Intergy," a smiling woman greeted us with another fake accent. "How can I help you today?"
"Well hello, little lady," Nate replied with his own exaggerated drawl. "I'm Sean Krieder and this here is my little lady Peggy Richards. We're set to start work today here in your fine establishment."
I had to admit that Nate talking like a cowboy was pretty dang hilarious. I had a feeling requests for him to pretend to be a cowboy were in my future. There were times when I needed a little comedy relief, and the drawl would have me laughing for hours.
Accent dropped the lady said, "Oh thank goodness. I hate the fake accents. I'm Betty and I'll call someone to show you two around. They should be here in two shakes." She reached for the phone and called someone up to meet us. She didn't seem the overly friendly sort. It made me wonder if she was one of the wives Katie had told us about.
She reminded me a little of my best friend back in New York, Frannie. The facial features were different, and clearly the woman was nowhere near as pretty as Frannie, but she had the blonde hair, blue eyes, stick skinny thing going for h
er. I wasn't sure what gave Frannie the right to be as gorgeous as she was, but I'd never seen anyone that compared.
The door opened behind the desk and another woman walked out. She had black, short and spiky hair and violet colored eyes that made me want to go get a pair of contacts the same shade. She was cute, in a pixie sort of way. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a blue shirt that simply said?I rule. I had a feeling me and her were going to get along great.
She walked over to me and stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Anne. Love the shirt."
"Thanks, I'm Peggy," I reached out to shake. "This is my boyfriend Sean," I said, nodding my head in Nate's direction.
"Cool. I guess I'll be showing you the ropes, Sean. We'll take Peggy down to the AI lab where someone there will show her around. After that, I'll take you through all the protocols and such."
"Sounds good," Nate said, and we followed her through the glass doors. Behind the doors was nothing but an open area leading to an elevator. We got in and she pushed the button for the fourth floor, causing the elevator to start going down. It was a short ride, which was nice since no one started up a conversation.
At our destination, she ushered us out and down a hallway. "This floor is just the AI labs. We have six floors total. The bottom floor is the fusion labs, fifth is the quantum chemists, third is genetic research, second is a giant library and lunchroom, and first is the astrophysics labs."
We walked through a door and she yelled out, "Hey Hank, I got your newbie." She turned to us and in a lower decibel, she said, "Hank is kind of the leader down here, just because he gets along with everyone. I've heard some great tales of cat fights, so you better be careful."
"Thanks for the advice," I told her as a man made his way over to us. He had blonde hair, green eyes and was about average height and weight. Nothing really resonated as remarkable about him.
"Peggy, right?" he asked, sticking out his hand. "I'm Hank; I've already heard a bunch about you from my wife." Obviously what happened in the store didn't stay in the store with Katie around.
"Yeah, we were acclimated a little to what town life was going to be like yesterday from Katie," I said as we shook hands. His hand wasn't overly large, but it was quite warm.
"Well, we'll leave you two and start making some rounds. Catch up with you later, Peggy," Anne said as she turned to head back.
Nate leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "Have a good day, I'll see you tonight." If he was nervous about leaving me alone, he didn't show it. After my last case, I was surprised he didn't find a way to stay by my side.
"So, how about we start by me showing you around and introducing you to the rest of the team. We only have six other members here."
He directed me into a room, but my vision suddenly darkened. I closed my eyes, trying to shake it off, but when I opened them something was definitely not right.
I'm somewhere sitting on a bench with knitting needles in my hands. I look down to see that I'm wearing an elegant dress with a full skirt and I'm starting to feel the corset I'm evidently wearing cutting off my breathing.
Looking up I see some men in funny looking outfits, riding on horses, and a couple of carriages in the road. One of the men sees me and makes his way over to me.
"Good afternoon, Lady Catherine," he says bowing his head to me.
"Good afternoon, Lord Eldridge. I trust you are having a splendid day?" I respond obviously not in control of my own vocal cords. If I were, the response would've been, "Who the hell is Catherine?"
"That I am, my lady. I trust you will be attending the ball tonight?"
"Of course, my mother has insisted I attend," I reply.
"Good. I hope you will save a spot for me on your dance card," he says, shifting on his horse.
"There is always a spot open for you, Lord Eldridge. Have a wonderful rest of the afternoon." Yuck, this being polite stuff is for the birds.
"I plan to my lady. Until this evening," he says and trots off.
What in the world is going on? It seems I'm in a park of some kind and there is a pond, so I wander over to see if I'm myself or have somehow changed bodies. When I look into the water, sure enough I see my face. I see my hair done up with little ringlets hanging down and the top of my dress cut way too low by my standards. I close my eyes again shaking my head.
When I opened them, I was thankfully back in the present with Hank. I didn't think I'd moved from the spot I'd been in before my little excursion.
"Let's see, where to start?" he asked himself. Evidently, nothing crazy happened to him. If he planned on opening things up for questions, I planned on asking what in the world they were doing in the AI lab to cause me to have hallucinations.
CHAPTER 6
A team effort is a lot of people doing what I say