Tech 101

Chapter Five-

     Slowly opening her eyes, Jaymee came to in a small, dark room.  Blinking her eyes to clear her cloudy vision, she slowly looked around the empty room, dark grey paint covering the walls making it even darker feeling.  Everything was slowly coming back to her- the apartment, her roommate Allie, the scary woman who kidnapped and threatened her, the woman getting shot and her getting rescued.  After they had gotten Jaymee into the SUV safely, they gave her an injection to put her to sleep.  She was glad for the nap a chance to relax and take in what had happened.  She hadn’t gotten much rest or relaxation since this had started.

            Hearing the click of the door, Jaymee turned to see a shorter, long-haired man come into the room.  She was disappointed she did not recognize he guy who had come in.  After everything she had been through, a little consistency was all she was hoping for.  “Good morning.” He casually greeted her.

            “Who are you?” Jaymee asked, pulling her blanket up to her neck.

            “Relax.” He gave her a subtle smile.  “My name is Seymour Birkhoff- most people call me Birkhoff.  I work with the people who rescued you yesterday.”

            The name sounded familiar.  She vaguely remembered one of the people who rescued her talking to a Birkhoff through a headset.  “Where am I?” she asked.

            “You’re in our, um,” Birkhoff struggled to think of a way to describe Division, “Our agency Division.  We are going to protect you until we find out where your dad is and make sure he’s safe too.”

            Jaymee cringed at the mention of her father.  For not seeing him most of her life, he was certainly causing her a lot of trouble.  She thought for a second, and then asked, “Why does that woman want my father so badly?”

            Sitting down on a chair next to the bed, Birkhoff shrugged and replied, “We don’t know for sure, but part of it is that she has something that is encrypted.  The problem is, only your father or I could decrypt.  She knows that there’s little chance of her getting me while I am with Division, so she decided to target your father.”

            “I don’t even know him.” Jaymee finally said her peace, not sure if the man would even care.  “I doubt my father would even come after me.” She swung her legs out from under the covers.  She took a minute to realize that someone had changed her from the dirty clothes Amanda had her in into a fresh white tank top and dark sweatpants.  She hopped it hadn’t been him. 

            “I don’t know him as long as Amanda did.” Birkhoff finally used her name.  “If she is trying to use you as bait, she knows your father will come for you.  Don’t underestimate the power of this organization your mom leaving your dad may not have been his choice, it may have been the only way to keep the two of you safe.”

            “Well, I’m not going to ever know unless I talk to him.” Jaymee figured this Birkhoff must know what he was talking about, but she wouldn’t believe what anyone had to say about it until she heard the facts from the man who had made the decision himself. 

            “Where is your mom?” Birkhoff suddenly asked, “We need to make sure that she’s safe too.”

            Looking at the floor of the room, then Birkhoff, Jaymee finally replied, “That won’t be a problem.  She died three years ago.”

            Jaymee could tell Birkhoff was kicking himself for not doing more research before asking the question, but she knew he was just trying to help her.  “I’m sorry.” He quietly replied.