| “And I still didn’t think about it. Needless to say, I played the Sims again. This time, one of my Sims obviously didn’t get enough energy and I sent him to swim. Well, he also died. That’s when the thought first occurred to me that someone was going to die. I quickly called my friend Erin and asked her to check on my house while I went out. She did as I asked and she found my father’s dead body in my swimming pool. Something was done to my game that caused this to happen.” Piper said. “You have no proof. You just have speculation.” Myron argued. “Sir, we ask that you cooperate while we conduct an investigation.” Scully said. “We are a top-notch company. We do not have time to halt production while you FBI Agents go out on a limb to say that my game killed two people and stole a television.” Myron said. “Sir, if an investigation cannot be conducted we at least ask that you allow us to analyze this game using your equipment.” Doggett said as he pulled a CD out of his coat pocket. “Where’d you get that?” Scully asked, turning around towards him. “This is the CD that supposedly killed Piper’s parents and stole her television.” Doggett answered. “That’s my game.” Piper said. Doggett nodded. “We need it analyzed.” Doggett said. “I don’t know…” Myron began. “I’ll do it, father.” Orman said as he opened the door to the office. He stepped inside and looked first at Piper then at his father. “Have you been listening to this entire conversation?” Myron asked. “I just walked by and heard they needed help and I’m sorry for eavesdropping but I believe that to satisfy our customers we must bend to their every needs.” Orman suggested. “I can do it right now if you’d like.” “Yes, that would be…” Doggett began. “We’re unavailable later today. What about tomorrow.” Scully said. Doggett looked at her strangely. “Tomorrow is fine. Come in any time after nine.” Orman offered. “Thank you. That will be all then.” Scully said. She stood up and walked out of the office. Piper and Max followed. Doggett nodded and then stepped out. He closed the door behind him and met Scully, Max, and Piper at the end of the hall. “What was that all about?” Doggett asked Scully. “Why can’t we do the analysis right now?” “Because I have a plan.” Scully said. Chapter 12 2:10 PM Piper sat on her bed, listening to her headphones. Max was lying down on the bed next to her, napping. Doggett was in his room reading a book while Scully was working on something in her own room. Piper looked to the opposite wall of where her bed was, trying to see into Scully’s room. The three rooms were adjoined with doors, which basically stayed open or at least unlocked. Piper took off her headphones and laid them down on her bed. She walked across the room, making sure not to wake Max. She tiptoed into Scully’s room and walked over to her bed. She sat down. “What are you doing?” Piper asked. Scully turned around a bit startled. “Working on that plan.” Scully said. Piper reached over and grabbed a coke from a nearby mini fridge. “Want one?” Piper asked as she opened the can. Scully shook her head. Piper shrugged her shoulders and took a sip. “So what does this plan entail?” “Hopefully it will tell us if the Sims really did have anything to do with the deaths of your parents.” Scully said as she wrote something down on a piece of paper. “Piper, you said in the hall that you recognized Orman’s smile. Do you remember where you remember it from?” Piper shook her head. “I can’t pinpoint it but it will come to me sooner or later.” “I think I got this.” Scully said. “Go get Doggett and go wake up Maxine and tell them to get in here.” Piper put her coke down on the bed stand and hopped off the bed. She walked through her room and into Doggett’s. He looked up as she entered. “Scully wants to hold a family meeting.” She said sarcastically. Doggett put his book down and got up. He followed Piper to her room. Piper walked over to where Maxine was lying. She took the pillow from beneath her head and hit her in the face with it. “Let’s not start that again.” Doggett said, taking the pillow from Piper’s hands before she hit Max again. He threw the pillow onto Piper’s bed and walked through to Scully’s room. “What did you do that for?” Maxine asked. She reached for her glasses on the stand next to the bed. She put them on and looked at Piper. “Scully has a plan.” Piper informed her. Max brushed her hand through her hair and sat up. The two of them walked into Scully’s room. Doggett was standing next to her as he looked at the paper she had been writing on. Piper sat down on the bed and grabbed her cola. Max sat next to her and waited. Scully turned to them. “We haven’t exactly decided if this is what we’re going to do but it’s a plan.” She said. “Sounds like my kind of plan.” Piper said. “What do you want us to do?” Maxine wondered. “Piper, it’s obvious that Orman has a liking for you and it’s also apparent that no one really wants Doggett or I at that factory. Now tomorrow, we’re going to set up an operation.” Scully said. Chapter 13 February 22, 2001 10:01 AM Scully and Doggett sat in the front seat of their rental car. Scully placed an earphone inside her ear. She adjusted a microphone so that she could speak into it. Doggett did the same next to her. Piper and Maxine sat behind them. Piper placed a small chip in her ear and clipped a small box under the collar of her shirt. Max did the same except she placed an earpiece in each ear. Piper took her hair down from the ponytail it was in. She made sure it covered her ears and the wire. “You know what you’re doing?” Scully asked them as she turned around. The two girls nodded. “We’ll be sitting right here when you’re done.” She turned to Piper. “Now remember, we can only communicate with Max so if you need our help go through her.” Piper nodded and swallowed a hard lump, which had formed in her throat. Piper and Max climbed out of the car and shut the door. Inside the car, Scully looked at Doggett. She held the microphone closer to her mouth. “Max, can you hear me?” She asked, testing the microphones. “Yup. You getting this?” She responded back. She looked through the car window as Scully nodded. “Piper, you reading me?” “Loud and clear.” Piper said. “Let’s go then.” Max said. “Good luck girls.” Doggett said as they walked off towards the building. Scully looked out as the girls disappeared into the building. She had a sad look in her eye. “They’ll be okay.” Doggett said, comforting her. Scully nodded and prayed that they would be. * * * * “Piper, where are you?” Max whispered. She was sitting underneath a large table. A white tablecloth was draped over it. No one could see her but then again she couldn’t see anyone either. “Looking for Orman.” Piper whispered back. “He has to be here somewhere.” She said. Max was startled as she heard a booming voice over the microphone. “Piper, right?” The voice said. Piper turned around and faced Orman. “Who is it?” Max wondered out loud. Her voice carried right into Piper’s ear. “Orman, it’s so nice to see you.” Piper said. Max sat back in relief. “Came to get that disk analyzed?” Orman asked Piper. “Yea.” She answered. She took it out of her pocket and handed it to Orman. He took it and looked at it. “Right this way.” He said. He led her down a hallway to another room. He put the disk in a scanner that was connected to a computer. He sat down at the computer. Piper sat next to him. “Where’s your two FBI friends and that other teenager?” He asked. “Oh…well, they had to go out and run some errands. They might join us later.” Piper lied. * * * * Max lifted the tablecloth slightly. No one was around. She crawled out from underneath the table and looked around. She stood up and walked around. The room she was in seemed to be deserted. “Piper, where are you?” She asked quietly. Max listened in her earphones as Piper asked Orman where they were. Orman’s voice got picked up by Piper’s microphone. Max paid attention to every word that Orman said. She knew Piper didn’t want to seem too conspicuous by repeating information. Got it, Max thought as Orman said where they were. “Max, are you there?” Scully asked through a microphone in Max’s other ear. Max temporarily blocked out Orman’s and Piper’s voices and flipped a switch so she would be able to talk to Scully. |