Hidden Potential

High Tech part 6 - Torment

Maddox looked out of the window of his secure appartment, a cup of coffee in his hand. Dark clouds were darkening the sky as the rain smattered against the window and the wind howled around the corners of the building. The storm was building. Maddox knew this to be true throughout the world. As news poured in about the spread of the virus, Maddox had withdrawn from meeting with Nick Myers, the special agent in charge of his protective detail. Although Nick had encouraged Maddox to get out, to pursue the laptop and the owner of the vehicle more, to draw out the mastermind behind the plot, as the situation spiraled out of control on a global scale, Maddox found himself more and more undecisive. He knew that any action he had could have repercussions, one way or another. He had already lost his closest friend and confidant, Tony.

He sighed and looked down at the swirling coffee in his cup. Tony. They were childhood friends and grew up in the same neighborhood. They had attended the same school one grade apart. This hadn't stopped them from being best friends and sharing everything. Maddox had even married Tony's sister. A tear rolled down his cheek. She was long gone now. Cancer they had said. It had been so far gone that by the time it was discovered, it was already too late. It had been only weeks before she had passed away. Maddox had promised her on her deathbed that he would always be there for Tony, like a brother. He had been. Until he wasn't.

The mechanic shop had actually been Tony's idea. They both liked to tune up their cars and to their own repairs and it made sense to them both at the time to get in business doing what they both loved to do. Tony had made one condition. Maddox had to handle the administrative side of things. Maddox smiled. It was one of the traits of Tony's that he had always loved. Tony knew his limits and when a task was beyond him. He always found a way to keep going. With the repair shop, he wanted to tinker with cars but he knew there would be a lot of paperwork. Recruit his best friend to handle the paperwork. Problem solved. That was Tony for you. Resourceful.

Maddox had never felt more alone. The family that once had been so close to him was now gone. Had he made a mistake getting so involved with Tony and his sister? Had he died because of him? If he had never married his sister, if he hadn't agreed to go into business with Tony, would he be alive. He turned and threw the coffee mug against the wall behind him as he let out a scream before he collapsed on the floor, sobbing. He was gone. She was gone. They were both gone.

A few minutes later, he crawled up off of the floor and sat down on the couch opposite the window. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and picked up the cylinder Meyers had given him. He held it in is hand, weighing it in his hand. He closed his hand around it as he felt a sense of determination well up inside him. He could not allow Tony's life to be wasted. He wasn't sure how but somehow, the price for his friends life would be paid.