5

Maxine peeled off her stained and ripped clothing. While the soup and coffee warmed her belly, her body remained cold and aching. She slid into a deep porcelain tub filled to her chin with steaming hot water. Sinking low, so the water covered her ears, Maxine allowed her head to float, face upright out of the water. The hot water stung her wounds, but it soothed her aching body. Too tired to scrub up, she allowed herself todoze.

Maxine awakened to cool water. How long had she slept? Leaning forward, she reached for the plug and partially drained the tub water. Turning the antique nob to allow hot, fresh water in, she wondered about the wealthy people during the Victorian era who had Lady’s Maids to assist them with their bathing. Oh, how she wished for a Lady’s Maid now! She was just too tired to do the work of bathing! With wishes for a maid set to the side, and the bath water once again piping hot, Maxine reached for the bar soap and loofa and began to tend herwounds.

A chill ran down her spine despite the steaming hot water filling the tub. While the quaint farmhouse bathroom presented a cozy effect, Maxine knew the reality was not cozy at all - but cold. The hitmen hired by Systems I would not stop looking for her. Nor would she give up the thumb drive she had intercepted. Systems I owned the localcommunity.

She knew of nowhere she could go for help where Systems didn’t have their reach. Her husband, Rich, often spoke of the power, money, and control they had over the vicinity. An ungodly amount of control. Now, Maxine realized he was not using a euphemism to describe the so-called ungodly reach of the company. He was serious. The powers that be were much more sinister than she had everimagined.

***

Rich stepped out of the office building into the crisp fall air. He missed his wife. Maxine was always a good strong wife and true to their marriage. She was a happy woman whose smile shone with the love of Christ. Rich frowned and wondered what it would be like to know God that way or at all. For so many years, he had acted the role of a picture-perfect Christian to make her happy, to convince her it was real. How was he to ever know that she would become entangled in his work? Now it was too late, and she had everything she needed to reveal the truth and bring down an empire. Now she k