Scorpion's New EQ

Chapter 1

"Taylor? Some people want to have a meeting with you," Ms. Fitz said as she poked her head into my doorway.

I didn't process what she said. My eyes were glued onto the computer as I continued typing in the code.

"Taylor, I swear, if you're doing anything that can get you in trouble, then I suggest you find a new hobby," she said. I looked at her and started laughing.

"Ms. Fitz, maybe you haven't realized, but I am what you consider a genius with several mental concerns. Finding another hobby, isn't an option. Those people, are they here for adoption purposes?" I asked, shutting my laptop and placing it on my desk.

"I'm not sure. They're waiting in the meeting room," Ms. Fitz said then turned and left. I sighed, but obliged to meet them.

I grabbed my jacket from the end of my bed and threw it on then tightened my ponytail before I left the room. I walked down the hall to the meeting room, still locked in my thoughts.

When I walked into the room four people were sitting there. Two women and two men. One of the men was looking at me curiously. He had a fedora on and was basically mesmerized in my movements. The other man, obviously the leader of the group of people looked me in the eye for several seconds. He had black hair that was curly in a way.

"You're Taylor?" he asked and I gestured to the empty room.

"I don't see anyone else in here. Seeing as of how you asked for someone named Taylor, you should probably expect that you are, in fact, going to come in contact with that exact person," I said and pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the table they were all at.

"Yep, I can tell already that she is the one," the man with the fedora said and one of the women glared at him. She had long black hair and a leather jacket.

"The what?" I asked and raised one eyebrow and looked over the four people. The last woman had a kind face with shoulder length brown hair.

"The genius of course," the man with the black hair said. As I looked at him I recognized him with a jolt that I quickly masked.

"And might I ask how you know that?" I asked quietly. I had never met anyone that had any knowledge of my IQ level.

"We use our resources kid. What exactly is your IQ, that is if you know," the woman with black hair asked me and I dropped my head a little to avoid looking into their eyes.

"187," I said quietly and then looked back up at the people.

"How old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen?" the man with the fedora asked.

"Seventeen," I said. Then before they could ask anything else, I looked directly at the man with the black hair.

"Can I talk to you privately?" I asked, almost with a bit of bitterness.

The man nodded and the other three people got up and left without a word. As soon as the door shut behind them I turned towards the man and leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms.

"So, what is the great Walter O'Brien doing at this pitiful orphanage talking to me? With a few others as well?" I asked. Walter raised his eyebrows, as if impressed.

"You know who I am?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Anyone who is considered a genius knows who you are. Now the question is why are you here?" I asked. He also sat back and then sighed.

"You know the area quite well. We could use extra brainpower right now too. Special talents?" Walter asked and I half smiled at him.

"I don't show my talents unless I have a good reason," I said and Walter nodded.

"Understandable. I run a group called Scorpion. We work on cases that only we can solve. There's six of us," Walter mused and I smirked.

"So who are those three?" I asked and gestured to the door. Walter called to the people outside and they came back in.

"This is Happy," Walter said, indicating to the woman with black hair, "Toby," man with fedora, "and Paige," Walter said, pointing to the last person.

"Now, I'm gonna go out on the limb here and say that you," I said, pointing at Paige, "Are not a genius? Normal?"

"Uh, yeah actually. How did you know that?" Paige asked, surprised.

"I don't know, I could just. . . tell," I said and shrugged. Toby looked at me again, this time with some amusement in his gaze.

"Behaviorist I'm guessing?" I said and looked at Toby. He widened his eyes and nodded a little.

"And you must be," I said, looking at Happy intently, "Something that has to do with machines and. . . Well yeah."

"Yeah, that would be correct," Happy said and rubbed her greased hands on her pants.

"Well, now that you have completely stripped everyone down to their center, let's get down to business," Walter said, "There is a bug in the FBI's system that we have tried multiple times to get out, but it seems as though someone keeps replanting it, and every time they do that, they reinforce it. Make it better."

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked and looked at Walter suspiciously.

"You have a mind meant for hacking. Or so I hear," Walter said and I could feel my cheeks redden the slightest bit.

"Ah, you've been doing your research then," I said somewhat bitterly.

"We need you to get through the FBI's most secretive databases, because they won't let us get to part of it, where everything important is and the bug," Walter said and I sighed a little.

"As wonderful as all that sounds, I don't really think that this is the best idea ever. Your theory has multiple holes in it and I was told if I hacked something again, there would be serious consequences," I said.

"Taylor, this is a serious situation. We need you to buck up and act a little less like a kid and a little more like a genius," Walter said, slamming his hands onto the table. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was on the breaking point. This bug must be serious.

"I'd rather not be talked to as a child but as an equal. As you are not doing that now, I imagine you never will. Find another way to get through the base," I said and stood up and left the room.

As I walked down the hall I heard running footsteps behind me.

"Taylor! Taylor, wait. Can I talk to you?" the person said. I sighed and stopped walking. I turned and saw Paige was standing there with her arms crossed.

"I'm pretty sure I made myself pretty clear to all of you. I see no reason to talk to you," I said, but stayed where I was.

"Walter says things he doesn't mean sometimes, but he was right when he said that we need you," Paige said and and I feigned a surprised expression.

"Really? Cause I didn't hear those words come out of his mouth. Well they came out of his mouth bit it was more of a 'we need you to'," I said.

"Okay, I get it. I know what you are trying to get at. I have a son that is a genius," Paige said and I nodded slowly.

"Gotcha. Well as soon as I hear those words come out of-,"

"Taylor, we need your help," Walter said. I hadn't noticed that he, Toby, and Happy had walked up to us.

"Well, then consider me your helping aid," I said with a sly smile.