Bad Nerd Falling (6 page)

“
What are you doing here?”
Helena asked, completely unaware of the fact that he was still
having trouble breathing because of her. Fortunately, he was adept
at hiding his feelings. Sometimes he wondered if he even had
feelings.

It was reassuring to know he
did.

“
Tia sent these things to
be stored here.” His mom indicated a full cart.

While they figured out where to place
the supplies, he quickly removed everything else from the shelves
within his reach and handed them off to Jorge. Then he stepped
lightly to the floor. His mom immediately piled the step-stool onto
her newly empty cart and whisked it away.

He turned to Jorge and Helena. “Did my
mom just steal my stool?”

“
Yes,” they both said at
the same time and in the same tone.

“
So I shouldn’t fight her
for it?”

“
You’ll lose.” Jorge
patted his arm.

“
Dad says she fights
dirty.”

His companions both nodded. “You don’t
know the half of it,” Helena murmured as she peered out the
doorway. “Okay, the coast is clear, I’m moving out.”

Jorge moved to the side so he could
help him clear another shelf.

Without complaint, even though he
really wanted to since Helena left them, he did as indicated. He
wasn’t in any hurry to finish this job. Working in the lab wasn’t
his life’s ambition, but he did enjoy these people and their
constant teasing.

He and Jorge had nearly finished
clearing the area by the time Helena returned.

Jorge glowered at her. “Where have you
been?”

“
What?” He noticed she was
staring at him rather than Jorge and he sent her a very personal,
rather warm smile.

She stared for a long moment before
Jorge bumped her and repeated his question. Her cheeks suffused
with color and she hastily looked away before seeming to break free
of him.

Jorge patiently repeated
his question
again
.

“
Oh, Tia finally broke and
changed out of those heels and into sneakers.”

He whistled. “How did my mom take
that?”

“
Not very well.” Helena
grinned. “I had to referee.”

“
Who won?” Jorge’s smile
looked knowing.

“
Tia and me.”

With a sad shake of his head, Jorge
returned to tugging items off the shelves. “So it’s going to be a
scary place to work for the next few days.”

“
Don’t worry. I threatened
to snap her heels off if she pushed too hard. Maria backed down. It
helps that both Tia and I are taller than her.”

His eyebrows soared into
his hairline. “You took on my mother and won?”
Really?
He had doubted that was
possible.

“
Of course we won. There
were two of us, and even in her four inch heels, we’re still taller
than her.”

Jorge snorted. “Tia is still taller
than her. You’re not.”

Helena sniffed and he paused to stare
at her. She looked like a disgruntled kitten. His lips curled
up.

“
I
am
taller than Maria.”

“
Not when she wears those
ridiculous shoes.” Jorge finished piling the cart and then steered
it across the lab.

Helena turned to him and since they
had a minute, he grabbed her and hugged her tight. One hand dove
into her long ponytail while the other curled around her, anchoring
her against him. He fused their lips, she melted, and he followed
her milliseconds later.

When she moaned into his
mouth, he released her. Only because he was afraid of losing his
head,
and
he
heard the familiar clatter of an empty lab cart. He fixed Helena’s
hair and turned her toward a shelf before he hauled a few things
off the one beside him. She worked, although her movements were
jerky and she was breathing hard.

His lips curled into a satisfied male
grin.

A moment later Jorge joined them and
they finished in their closet. He followed them into the other
storage area, or at least he loitered in the doorway and watched as
the four lab personnel finished storing their precious supplies. He
couldn’t help but notice how well they interacted.

The nicest part of the entire experience for him
was that he didn’t feel like an outsider. That was a first here at
home.

Chapter 6

“
There, that’s the last
item.” Tia set the remaining box in place. Helena enjoyed the
satisfaction oozing from all four of them at a job well
done.

“
This is going to work a
lot better.” Maria straightened a few bottles and they all stepped
back to survey their good work.

The large storage closet was now
neatly organized and held all of their supplies with room to
spare.

Vlad wasn’t sharing in their triumph
because he was out locating someone to add wheels to their table.
That solution was going to be a handy one when they did need access
to the smaller storage area. No longer would it take three of them
to move the table.

At least after Vlad found the wheels.
He said he could handle the installation but they hadn’t located
said wheels, so he went off in search of some.

“
Okay, before we lose this
wonderful feeling of accomplishment, lets tackle the cabinets and
drawers,” Tia decided.

No one groaned because they all
realized now was the best possible time to accomplish this. An
organized lab where everyone knew where everything was should up
efficiency. Years ago this had been a chemistry lab that eventually
transitioned into a molecular lab. Now they used it for
microbiology, so they needed to sort through the heaps of
equipment.

“
How should we go about
this?” She opened the cabinet nearest her.

“
Remove everything and
pile it on the bench. The things you’ve never used, pile onto a lab
cart,” Tia answered.

Before long, there wasn’t a surface in
the lab that wasn’t covered with stuff. Tia flitted from bench to
bench and helped sort the items.

“
I have never used half of
this stuff.” Maria held up an item she had never seen
either.

“
I know what most of this
equipment does, but it won’t much help us.” Tia picked up the phone
and quickly started talking. From Tia’s end of the conversation she
gathered their boss spoke with Graham. “No, I think you should send
some of your molecular research scientists over here. We’ve got
equipment we aren’t going to use. They should come and see this
stuff. If they can use it, it’s theirs.

“
What?” Tia tilted her
head. “Oh absolutely, if they have stuff they don’t use and think
we can, tell them to bring it by all means.”

She glanced at the stuff still piled
on the benches. “Tell them to bring a truck.”

Then lost track of any other pertinent
thoughts because Vlad chose that moment to return. One of the
maintenance men from the palace followed him, carrying a hefty
toolbox. Vlad’s arms were full of what looked like various sized
wheels.

Hurrying forward she caught the ones
that slipped, and then followed him to the table. There, the two
men, soon joined by Jorge, held a conference as to which size wheel
would be most suited to the table. Losing interest, she drifted
back to Tia and Maria. They were busy sorting through the contents
of the main lab bench.

“
I suggest we move these
into the small storage closet.” Tia gestured toward a nearby pile.
Maria wheeled over a cart they stacked haphazardly and set
off.

After they reached the closet, they
sorted through the items inside and selected additional items to
give away. “We won’t use this, or this, or this…” As she spoke Tia
loaded up the now empty cart until it groaned. She and Maria helped
and soon they had browsed everything that came out of the
cupboards.

By the time the men added wheels to
the table, and the maintenance man shook Vlad’s hand and exited,
the first wave of hospital research staff surged into the
room.

“
We’re not going to get
anything done today, are we?” She stepped out of their
way.

“
No.” Maria remained in
step with her, edging closer and closer to the wall as more lab
coats shopped.

It didn’t take long before there were
more white coats in the lab than fire officials would permit. Soon
she and Jorge and Maria were packed into the larger storage area.
Vlad joined them.

“
How did it get so crowded
in here?” he asked.

She leaned against a shelving unit as
she explained.

“
He must have called
everyone in the entire principality.” Maria crossed her arms,
expression disgruntled.

Jorge patted her consolingly. “Don’t
worry, they won’t stay long.” Both she and Maria shot glares at
him. “I hope we don’t miss lunch.” He didn’t sound
hopeful.

Vlad, leaning against the shelves
lining the wall containing the secret panel, was amused by their
conversation. And busy plotting how to best show them the door
without giving himself away.

“
We need to relax.
Scientists don’t get much time to interact with each other. Give
Tia the time she needs.” Helena fidgeted a bit, like she was having
trouble believing herself.

His eyes strayed to the gap between
the metal shelving. The secret panel was accessible through that
scant space. Pretending to narrow his eyes, he stared at the
gap.

“
Why doesn’t the shelving
span the entire length of this wall?”

He hoped his question would take their
minds off the boredom.

“
I’ve always wondered why
that was there.” Helena stepped closer to him and stared at the
gap. “It doesn’t make sense.”

His mom stood on his other side. “I
can fit in there.” She wiggled between the two shelves and showed
that she did, indeed, fit quite nicely.

“
Is there another shelf
behind this one?” Vlad asked.

All three stared at him, mouths agape
for a moment before they turned excitedly to each other. “Go check,
Maria,” Helena commanded in an enthused tone.

Jorge added his encouragement as she
did so. His mother turned to the side and squeezed through the
small space, Helena right behind her. Both women faced the wall and
then turned again so they could see behind it. “There’s a whole new
shelf back here.” His mother’s voice burbled from the other
side.

“
Really, more shelving?”
Jorge sucked in his small belly and turned between the shelves. It
was a tight squeeze but he ended up exclaiming with the women over
this new discovery.

Despite his much larger frame, he was
going to have to join them. He could do this. There were plenty of
times when he had squeezed his bulk into small spaces. He didn’t
like it, but he did it. Taking a deep breath, he turned to the side
and worked his chest through the tight space. Helena and his mother
had shifted so Jorge could fit. Now they all surged forward for
Vlad.

Then, in a stroke of fate, his mom’s
extra high heel caught in a small hole near the base of the wall.
It threw her off balance and she stumbled, right into the secret
panel. The newly oiled door gave way under her weight and with a
yelp, she plummeted through it.

He leapt to grab her. He had to knock
Jorge, who stood between them, out of the way, but he managed to
snag his mother, and still keep Jorge upright.

His mom’s hands latched onto him and
clung until her world righted itself again. “Thank you for saving
me, love.” She sounded dazed.

“
What is that?” Jorge
pointed, his brow furrowed.

Helena’s eyes widened. “It’s a secret
passage.”

They all turned to the door that still
swung from the momentum. With another look at each other, Jorge
straightened. “We need to inspect this.”

Since this was his goal he said, “I’ll
go first.”

He didn’t want any of them stumbling
into his control room. It would be difficult to locate, but since
they now knew about the passage ways, it wasn’t improbable for
them. They were all scientists. That meant they had more than their
fair share of curiosity.

He hoped that by leading, he could
show them the way he wanted them to know. In the event of a fire or
other emergency, this would also be another way out, another safety
route. He wanted them comfortable traversing the
passage.

To keep the space dark enough that
they wouldn’t notice there were other passages snaking off the main
corridor, he kept the small penlight he carried trained on the
floor. His companions eased through the panel behind him. They
could all see the floor and he quickly showed them the stone walls
on either side. It wasn’t a spacious hall, but enough that one
person could easily walk, even if carrying a heavy pack or
equipment.

“
I’ve heard of these
passageways.” His mother’s shoes made a staccato ping on the stone
floor.