Christine stopped at the gate and waited, knowing it wouldn't be long. It wasn't. The door to the guard shack opened and Jon, the day shift Head of Security, stepped toward the car.
"Hello, Ms. McCarver," he said after Christine rolled down the window.
"Hi, Jon. I thought I told you to call me Christine."
"You did, and your Dad wants me to call you 'Ms. McCarver', and he signs the checks," Jon said as coolly as if he were reading the phonebook. "You aren't on the list today."
"It's a surprise."
"Well, they'll be happy to see you," Jon signaled toward the shack and the gate opened. "Good to see you again, Ms. McCarver ... same to you, Lisa."
Christine watched as Jon walked away. An ex-Marine, he was tall, strong, erect, good looking. He was great at what he did. He was unfailingly polite and courteous but able to maintain his "my way or the highway" presence. There'd been a time, not so long ago, when she'd sent out every signal she could think of to let him know she was interested. He'd picked up on everyone of those signals and declined every opportunity because he was too professional to mix business and pleasure.
The thought of it sickened her now. She had nothing against Jon. She liked him as a person and she was grateful to have him protecting her family. But the idea of being with him, or any other man, was out of the question. Prof. Sawyer had seen to that, Prof. Sawyer had shown her the truth. As she shifted the car into gear, she snuck a look at Lisa, who'd taken a run of her own at Jon. The "what were we thinking" look on her face said everything.
The house was set hundreds of yards off the road. Christine parked in the space directly across from the kitchen and the two let themselves in. A tall, thin girl stood at the sink washing dishes.
"Hey Pam," Christine said.
"Hey!" Pam looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Just felt like a visit," Christine replied. "You remember my friend Lisa?"
"Sure. Nice to see you again."
Christine appraised the maid's daughter. As with Jon, it was with all new eyes. Only two years older than Christine, Pam was 5'10" with stylish black hair between short and medium length and green eyes. Her facial features were delicate, doll like, with high cheek bones, button nose and wide mouth. The neck was long and graceful. Her shoulders were broad and lean, the foundation for a pair of firm, upturned, separated breasts. The lines of her torso curved elegantly through her ass and into her legs. Christine liked what she saw.
"You Mom here today?"
Pam rolled her eyes, "Sick. She's got a cold but she's convinced she's got the bird flu thing. She probably spent the day making funeral arrangements."
Christine laughed, "So who is here?"
"Your Mom and Dad, definitely," Pam answered. "I saw your sister and some friend of hers earlier, but I have no idea if they are still here."
"Okay, we'll go find them. Later." Christine and Lisa stepped into the hall. "First thing's first ... inventory."
The two went through the house, confirming the only people in the building were Christine's Mom, Dad, sister Darla and Darla's friend Maggie, as well as Pam. That settled, the two retreated to the basement where the network room was located. The entire house had been wired for Ethernet and sound, with everything converging on a single server which stored music and data and routed all traffic. Christine withdrew the control sphere Prof. Sawyer had given her from her bag, connected it to the system with a CAT-5 cable, and turned it on. There was a phone in the room; she called down to the front gate.
"Jon, is anyone scheduled to come by today?" Christine heard a keyboard clicking.
"The charter school has a fund raising meeting scheduled with your Mom at 4:30p."
"She's going to have to cancel, she isn't feeling well. I'll call around and tell everyone, but if anyone shows can you send them home?"
"I'll need to hear that from your Mom."
"She's taking a nap right now," Christine replied. "Can I have her call you when she wakes up?"
"That would be fine."
"Thanks, Jon," Christine hung up and walked to the server. She pressed the button labeled "Master". The control sphere was now broadcasting to the entire house. Christina and Lisa moved to the TV in the game room and watched a "Simpsons" re-run. According to Prof. Sawyer, all they'd need is a half hour.