Claudia woke to the burning sensation of sunlight as it poured onto her eyes from the window above her bed. Blinking rapidly, she desperately tried to remember where she was, and more importantly -how she had gotten there. The memories came flooding back, in the form of the previous days’ drive to Texas, her shaky introduction to Parker’s home, and the bed in the guest room in which she lay. Claudia shivered; she was freezing. As usual, she had kicked the blankets off in her sleep, exposing herself to the air. Claudia was uncannily coldblooded by nature, the motive behind her wardrobe of sweaters which had the tendency to engulf her slight frame. Sitting up slowly, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. A giggle escaped her as she watched her feet dangle, not touching the ground. The joys of being vertically challenged.
Glancing around, Claudia was surprised to find her green duffel, the beige mesh bag, and the box containing her equipment set inside the doorway. Parker must have placed them there; speaking of the brooding woman, where was she? Claudia sat utterly still for a moment, brow furrowed as she contemplated whether or not she should go in search of her host. Remembering Parker’s parting comment, Claudia realized that she was most likely long gone. With a sigh of relief mingled with disappointment, Claudia leapt off the edge of the bed and plucked her duffel from the ground. Parker had looked almost human in the picture residing on the table downstairs. Her features hadn’t been so closed, and there was a twinkle to her eyes which Claudia had yet to see in their short acquaintance. Wistfully, Claudia thought of what Parker would be like in person minus her astringent demeanor.
Inside the duffel, Claudia found an assortment of clothing. Oddly enough, most of the things matched one way or another. Claudia hadn’t been aware that she owned anything which even vaguely resembled an ensemble. She had never been one to pay much attention to her exterior. Grasping the articles of clothing most easily accessible, which happened to be a pair of black jeans and a brown sweater, Claudia quickly shed her clothing from the day before. She would have liked to take a shower, but not wanting to invade Parker’s home more than she already had, she opted to wait for the other woman’s return to tender an inquiry.
Not bothering to take a brush to her blazing indomitable curls, Claudia wasted no time in ripping open the box which held her computer. With much care and concentration she began to extract her collection of state of the art equipment from it’s cardboard encasement. She cherished each piece, taking time to inspect every inch of their surfaces, assessing any damage inflicted by the move. The computer was a brand spanking new iMAC, loaded to capacity with RAM, which Claudia admittedly favored. Vengeful hackers tended to want to sing for a crowd rather than a yodel for a few listeners; in other words, most of the viruses circling in her profession were written specifically for an IBM compatible. No one seemed to like working with MACs...no one but her. Accompanying the computer, were three external disk drives, an external CD rom, and five hubs for connections. A quick jet Epson printer and Vista Alta scanner completed the set. Various disks, CDs, and cartridges tagged along in the bottom of the box as well as spare parts. A little contraption she had built herself in the kitchenette of the tiny Seattle apartment was the last to be unloaded. Though the iMAC sported a built in modem of the highest possible speed, Claudia had pieced together a circuit which allowed her to sign onto the internet using a cellular phone. Rather convenient as well as economical; there were never any bills from a server in her mailbox. She had been taught by the best, then learned the rest of her trade on her own. And the expertise she carried across her shoulders showed.....it had been hard earned.
Fingers skipping in and out of the cords, hubs, and drives, the terminal was soon connected in a semblance of it’s former state. No longer situated on a desk, the computer and it’s apparatus were hooked up on the thick carpet of the spare bedroom floor. Claudia sat Indian style before her partner in crime -Defiance. Though she knew it was an inanimate object and that her actions were quite silly, Claudia had felt compelled to christen her computer with a name. It made the fact that her best friend in the world was a hunk of plastic housing a motherboard a little easier to swallow. A lot easier.
The insistent grumbling of her stomach woke Claudia from her daydreams and she rose from her position. Peeking around the doorframe, she risked a glance down the hall, almost afraid that something -or someone- may jump out at her. Finding nothing more than a long expanse of hallway, she hesitantly crept from the guest room, her bare feet padding softly on the floor. Thankfully, the kitchen wasn’t too difficult to locate, and after only two wrong turns, Claudia managed to navigate her way there. Deciding the refrigerator would be the best place to begin, she eased the door open.
Ten minutes later, Claudia sat on the pristine counter, a jar of mayonnaise, a baggie of turkey, and a brick of cheese beside her. Munching quietly on a sandwich, not minding the solitude of the house, Claudia’s thoughts wandered back to the bedroom and her makeshift terminal. The time to plug the gear in and sign online was long overdue. The ingredients used for her impromptu meal forgotten, she made her way back to her point of origin that morning.
Sandwich in one hand, Claudia used her free fingers to grasp the power bar plug and push it into the wall socket behind her. The lights flickered as electricity surged to the power bar, through the cords, and to her equipment. A shout of triumph escaped her lungs as the lights on the technical gear brightened, and the computer began to boot up. Clasping her hands to her chest and biting her lower lip in excitement, Claudia’s emerald eyes were wide with anticipation. All at once, an awful pop cut through the air, and the tiny redhead was left awash in darkness, silence, and fear.
After her heart had returned to it’s normal pace, Claudia mumbled several choice words. Pushing herself up from the floor, she maneuvered her way to the mesh bag, rummaging around until she found a small penlight. There was enough light coming through the window in her bedroom, but the hallway was long without any source of illumination. Setting out into the cavernous house for the second time in thirty minutes, Claudia began her quest for the electrical box.
The swords on the wall in the living room leered at her eerily, and the stand displaying an ancient set of Chinese armor cast mysterious shadows. Claudia shuddered and reluctantly scoured the rest of the house for the elusive circuit breaker, finally ending up in the kitchen once again. With a sigh, she resumed her position on the counter, picking up a slice of cheese. A door half hidden behind the pantry peeked out at her. Interest piqued, Claudia hesitantly jumped from her perch and gave the knob a turn....it opened easily revealing a dark stairway leading down into the depths beneath the house.
Taking a deep breath, Claudia tried to ignore the shudder which passed through her body, taking up permanent residence in her knees. Penlight grasped firmly in hand, she took first one faltering step, then another....and another, until she reached the landing at the base of the stairwell.
Squinting into the darkness, Claudia felt her way along the wall until her palm came in contact with a cold, flat, metal surface. Biting the penlight between her teeth, her hands sought to open the panel. Contemplating the box, her eyes scanned the labels beside each of the switches until she found the main power breaker.
“Here goes nothing....” she muttered, and gave the mechanism a firm tug. The lights flickered for a moment before coming on steadily. Breathing a sigh off relief, thankful that she had flipped the switch at the top of the stairs before descending, Claudia rested against the wall, the soft comforting light of a single 60 watt bulb shining down on her. She shut the panel securely, then turned hastily to leave.
“Oh shit!” she cried as her left leg came into contact with a stack of boxes. She watched as their delicate balance wavered for a moment, then came crashing down. Hands flying to her ears, Claudia cringed, shutting her eyes tightly. When the deafening roar of the avalanche had subsided, the petite person risked a glance. “Ooops.” she whispered to no one in particular. Parker’s enraged features came to mind. Claudia scurried on her knees among the mess, desperately uprighting boxes and trying to restore order. Thankfully, they had all been well sealed, and nothing had escaped......except for the last box who’s bottom collapsed as soon as it left the ground in Claudia’s arms. A sea of papers, pictures, and mementos cascaded to the cold cement of the basement. Starring helplessly at the array, Claudia bent to shuffle everything into the box, turning it over so that the bottom became the top. As her fingers flew to gather all of Parker’s things, her eye caught the headline of a newspaper clipping. Claudia froze, her hands forgetting their grip on a stack of letters as they reached for the yellowed clipping. She read the headline again: “Tragedy Strikes Texas’ First Family”. Green eyes narrowed to slits, Claudia began to read the accompanying article.
“The influential Mendoza clan suffered a huge blow to their numbers last Tuesday evening, November 14th. In the midst of the birthday celebration for eldest son, Patton, festivities were tragically interrupted by the appearance of a fire. The flames spread quickly, inflicting irreversible damage in their wake. Police estimate the weather conditions aided the blaze, allowing the fire to quickly consume much of the house, trapping two of the Mendoza offspring inside. Patton Mendoza and sister Paiton caught in the ravaging flames, their demise imminent. Police suspect arson, the estimated origin of the fire internal. This catastrophe has come at the worst possible time for the Mendozas, leaving Patrick and Paige to grieve the loss of two of their three children so near to the holiday season. Third child, Parker, not in attendance, escaped harm........”
Claudia cocked her head to the side as she digested this new information. The newspaper was dated five years prior, though she had a feeling Parker was still bearing scars. Who wouldn’t be? Claudia wondered briefly how she would feel if she were in the same situation. She would probably be wishing she had died with them.
Taking a moment to push her baggy sleeves above her elbows, Claudia spotted a second news article peeking from beneath a diploma and several figurines. Without giving a second thought to Parker’s privacy -she hadn’t given a first- Claudia snatched up the paper.
“Senator Kravik Assassinated! Texas Senator Mark Kravik was gunned down while leaving a house meeting this morning in Washington DC. Allegedly, the gunman waited until Kravik had reached his sedan, turning around to wave at the crowd of onlookers one last time. Two shots rang out, one entering the Senator’s skull, and the second embedding itself in Kravik’s bodyguard, Parker Mendoza. The Senator was pronounced dead at the scene, the gunman captured by security. Ms. Mendoza was rushed to Liberty Hospital where she was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest........”
Claudia’s eyes widened in horror. Parker had been shot! Granted, the senator had died, but Parker was still alive. Saying that the dark woman was both emotionally and physically marred wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination.....she had been through a lot.....more than her share of pain, or so it seemed.
Suddenly, shivers racked Claudia’s spine, inciting the feeling that she was being watched. Glancing around nervously, she packed the rest of the mess into the box, then placed it on the top of the stack in the basement, before scampering up the stairs and into the kitchen. Heaving a sigh, Claudia returned to the guest bedroom, her thoughts still lingering in the dark recesses of the basement and the box.
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