Flying Blind Ch. 04

"So what should I do?"

"I can't tell you that. Well, I think you should talk to him. This isn't going to go away. Look at this from his perspective for a sec. No, just hear me out. He just found out that a daughter he had never met and was told was dead may be sitting right here in this room. He wants . . . no, he NEEDS to know. And honestly, he has a right to know."

Madison sniffed again, but this time managed to wipe her nose on tissue instead. "How can I? What do I say? What about his wife?"

"His wife and Alvin are pretty much under . . . how to say this? Hotel arrest? He told them to go there and to under no circumstances leave. My mother is circling the building, and has his permission to keep her from leaving. I think Mom is hoping she tries something. She really wants to kick that woman's ass."

Madison actually snickered, though mirth was somewhat absent from the sound. "I like your Mom."

"Yeah, she's all right. She's a bit overbearing, but I love her anyway."

"Overbearing? Coming from you?"


"Hey! Okay, maybe I deserved that." Then Heda leaned over and kissed Madison's quivering lips.

Madison smiled shyly. "You shouldn't be kissing me. I'm gross and snotty right now."

"How romantic," Heda laughed. "Now clean up and go talk to him."

Madison washed her face, thanked the doctor for his help, got a few words of advice and made a follow-up for the next week. She was actually at the hospital, seeing as she had a head injury from falling and the student medical center was really hesitant to handle head-cases. So to speak. Heda followed her all the way to the lobby, and every step got louder and heavier for her, and every part of her brain was screaming at her to turn around and run. Well, almost every part. The part that held her last unbroken dreams was cautiously telling her to move forward.

Mr. William Hannity was sitting in a horribly uncomfortable looking naugahyde chair just past the reception desk. As soon as Madison appeared in the hallway he stood up, gripping his hands together so tightly that she could hear his knuckles cracking from thirty feet away. She was in public, so Madison was using her cane to navigate, though she had her echolocation on every excruciating step down the hall. She suppressed a small smile when she noticed Heda make the "I'm watching you" sign of pointing to her own eyes and then towards Mr. Hannity's. He nodded, but his attention was pretty much on Madison.

"Well, I'm here," she said a bit coldly. "You want to talk? Talk."

"Could we step outside? Please?" Mr. Hannity said properly. He sounded a hell of a lot more nervous than even Madison did. "Some things are not meant to be discussed quite so publicly, and I think we have both had enough of that for the day."

Madison nodded, then waved towards Heda to let her know that this was okay. She figured her girlfriend would follow and try to listen anyway. She walked side by side with this man until they reached the outer door, then passed Mr. Hannity's limousine and strolled to the small park across the street, finally coming to rest on a park bench.

"If you have something to say, you had better say it," Madison said, her voice low and unpleasant, "because I have had as much from your family as I think I can stand."

William started to talk, then stopped. Finally, "I'm not even sure how to do this. How do you talk to a ghost?"

"What do you want from me?" Madison asked. "You and Alvin just want one last yuck at my expense? Do you have any idea what he's put me through? Do you care, or were you in on it?"


"Never!" Hannity said, standing up quickly and beginning to pace. "My son's actions are unforgivable, and I promise you that he will pay for them. His mother can only protect him so much. Even if you were . . . even if there was no chance that you were my daughter, I would never condone such cruelty!"

Madison pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them. "Then why? Why did he do it?"

"My son is . . . well, he's spoiled. All his life, he's known that he could get anything he wanted, and I did little to dissuade him. His mother encouraged him. I think he saw you as a threat to his position. He knew of course. He knew who you were. He knew the story, and he knew that your birthday was special."

"Why? Like a zillion people probably have my birthday."

"Miss Sloan . . . Madison, I wanted to be there for the birth of my first child. Your birth. But Meghan went into labor two weeks prematurely, and I was in Europe on business. I missed what was going to be one of the greatest moments of my life. But when I got back the next day, I was told you had died."

"Your child," Madison said softly. "There's no proof it was me."

William sat down. "It was you," he replied. "I know that now. Everything makes too much sense because of it. I blamed myself for not being there, as if my simple presence could have saved my child. Every year since, I have begged forgiveness from whatever gods or goddesses may be listening for not being with my family when I was needed. My wife is . . . she is proud of our bloodlines. Too damn proud. But even I could not imagine that she would have done something like this. Give up our child . . . my daughter, because of this?" he said, motioned towards her glasses.

"But Alvin --"

"Alvin saw you as a threat because of the conditions of the trust fund. He and his mother probably hired the private investigator to see if you knew who you really were and were aiming to interfere with Alvin's acquisition of --"

"What trust fund? What the hell are you talking about?"

"My wife and I agreed to set aside a large sum of money to be divided amongst our children. The oldest would get the lion's share and would help invest for the younger. There was always a chance something could happen to us, so I wanted my children to be able to look after each other."

"That's what this is about?!" Madison barked. "I don't care about money! Tell your son . . . tell him to go to hell first of all. Secondly, I'm over eighteen. You wouldn't have any responsibility for me anyway, but even so I'll sign any damn thing you want promising I won't sue or ask for one red cent. I just want to live in fucking peace! I'll survive just damn fine on my own."

"You're right, this is not about money. This is about family. This is about missing out on twenty years of your life and about thinking you were dead. I can't survive losing my daughter a second time. Please, I would like to do the paternity test."


"No," Madison replied. She stood up.

"Why not? What do you have to lose?"

"Your son and your family have caused me more heartache than I can even describe. I will not let you do this to me. I will not be left crying and alone one more damn time because of the Hannity family."

William Hannity knew that he had to think quickly. He had one more card to play. It was sneaky and underhanded, but he played it anyhow. "You have other siblings, you know."

Madison stopped. 'Family,' she thought. 'Like Heda has. No, it's not --'

"A brother and a sister. Timothy is thirteen and his sister Morgan is sixteen."

"Shut up," Madison said, trying to get her feet to move again.

"They're both good kids, who still have a lot of potential --"

"Shut up!"

"-- whose only role models are a self-centered older brother, an arrogant mother, and father who has been to blind to see what has been going on." He walked up behind her. "They need their big sister. I need my daughter. You need a family."

"I have my friends," she said, tears coming down her face. "I have Heda. I don't need --" But she could not bring herself to say it. She DID need a family. Not one where she was on the outside looking in like some pathetic window shopper. She needed a family more than she needed to breathe at that moment.

"Please, take the test. We'll know the truth in a few days. If I'm wrong, which I'm not, I walk away and you never have to see my or anyone in my family ever again. That's a promise. But if I'm right, then I want to spend time with you. I want you to meet your family --"

"And your wife?" she said bitterly. "If you're right, then your wife threw me out like trash. And your son as attacked, insulted, and humiliated me so many times that I've lost count."

"Alvin and his mother will pay the piper for what they've done, but you should not deny the rest of us a chance to feel complete. Please."

Madison wiped her eyes free of tears and then stood up straight and tall. "Do the damn test."

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Elsewhere . . .

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Could Cold rage? Oh yes, It could. The Cold crept through its lair, smashing wood and punching machinery. No one was listening now. The Message seemed to be lost on the wind, and that was not acceptable. They must be brought back to task. They must listen. But the Cold could wait until all the visitors were gone . . . wait until They all felt safe again. Then the next One would be chosen and the next Message sent. This time, the Enemy must be made to understand. The Enemy must fear.

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The next day . . .

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Madison woke up, still feeling like hell. She had not been able to get to sleep until . . . actually, she could not remember when it had been. She remembered giving a blood sample for the paternity test, then she and Mr. Hannity had somewhat awkwardly parted ways. He had wanted to hug her, but Madison was obviously not comfortable with the idea, so he had backed off.

Heda had driven her home, and everyone in the house had apparently stayed awake to see how she was doing. Heda had even crashed in Madison's room, though the eagle-shifter had fallen asleep long before her bat counterpart. Madison had smiled a little when she heard her girlfriend muttering in her sleep. Apparently she was dreaming about chasing rabbits.

Now, Madison was alone. She scanned her clock, reading from the hands that it was almost noon. What a weekend she had already had. Her head was already beginning to spin just thinking about it. "I need juice," she muttered, throwing on some sweats and then heading upstairs. When she got to first floor, she heard . . . nothing. "Okay, this is creepy. Where is everyone?"

She got a glass of OJ and then left the kitchen. She found everyone, and by that she meant everyone, in the game room. They were watching Scrabble.

"Hey guys, what's --" she started to say, then Sasha appeared out of nowhere and covered her mouth.

"Shh," Madison's friend whispered, then looked at the table.

Heda, her mother, her brother, and Billy Forester were sitting on opposites sides of a card table, staring at a board covered with small tiles with eerie intensity. They looked more like they were playing poker, studying each other's faces before caressing their letters with their eyeballs. Sasha pulled Madison back into the kitchen.

"Sorry about that," Sasha said, "but it's the rubber match. They started up at like nine in the morning, and it's so intense!"


"Uhm, it's Scrabble."

"No, it's more than that!" Sasha replied earnestly, her eyes wide open. "I mean I've never imagined watching Scrabble before, but they're like kung fu masters of words. I didn't know there were so many words that had the letter 'Q' in them, and I work at a friggin' library. And they're playing each other too! They try and figure out what letters everyone else is likely to have and then play to make sure they don't leave openings. It's incredible."

"Wait, you mean everyone in their has their panties all up in a wad because of . . . Scrabble?"

"Yes! And after the first game, Mrs. Adler said that Billy was one of the first players she had encountered that was up to the challenge." Sasha was actually fluttering. "My Billy! Now c'mon, we're missing the action. Ed has been eyeballing a triple-word score for a whole round."

"And the world has gone completely insane," Madison muttered.

Admittedly, there was an air of tension surrounding the game that she had never imagined being associated with a board game before, but much of it was lost on Madison. She saw tiles being placed, but they were just small blocks of wood to her. Her echolocation could not make out colors of paint or ink, only more physical changes. It was frustrating. Heda loved to read and write and play this silly game, and Madison was unable to share it.

Heda wound up winning the game by five points with a last second placing of the word "plodder" to finish off her tiles. A sense of pressure seemed to be released from the room as the "noble warriors" smiled at one another, clapping each other on the backs or shaking hands. It was like someone had just won the Superbowl.

"Hey babe!" Heda said, grinning proudly as she stood up from the field of battle. "Didn't see you come in."

"Obviously," Madison said dryly, though also a little softly. Heda moved over and embraced her and give her a light kiss, usually reserved for when the parents were in the room.

"You okay?"

"There are no good ways for me to answer that question," she replied, feeling a little better. Getting kissed by a beautiful woman could do that.

"Then try honest ones," Heda replied.

"I'm freaked. I just realized that we've spent basically our whole relationship worrying about me and my problems, and I see you playing a game I never could. I've never read any of your writing, and --" She paused when she was kissed again, but only temporarily, "-- I've been a horrible girlfriend --" (kiss) "--and an emotional trainwreck --" (kiss) "--and . . . and . . . What the hell was I saying?"

"Nothing you need to be worrying about."

"Listen, we've taken up enough of your time --" Mr. Adler started to say, but Madison waved him off.

"No, you all are only in town for a little while. And thanks to my drama, you didn't even get to do the parent day stuff."

Jessica raised both eyebrows. "Missy, I've had two children come through this institution already." She glared at her oldest son. "It could have been three already, but someone had to go and 'find himself' or some such --"

"Dear, remember what we said when you started turning into an academic snob?" her husband said soothingly.

"I've got your --"

"Jessica," her husband said, his voice a little sterner this time.

Jessica Adler closed her eyes, then opened them again and proceeded. "Anyway, my husband and I have seen this campus from one side to the other, we donate heavily, and I'm reasonably certain that the speeches haven't changed since Rob and Richard went through. I just came to see my daughter and try to figure out what she's gotten herself mixed up in."

"Mom!"

"Not that it's a bad thing, but you do tend to wind up in situations like this."

"Like this? Mother, what possibly compares to having a girlfriend who might be the long lost daughter of one of the richest men in the country and maybe the world, as well as having a serial kidnapper and/or killer running around is even remotely comparable to anything I've ever done?"

"Remember your Junior Prom when --"

"Mother, that is not even in the same conversation as this!"

Madison was smiling now. "What happened --"

"-- will never be spoken of again," Heda said, almost sulking. "Suffice to say, it involved the team mascot and a lot of therapy for a couple members of the pep squad. And Principle Smithers."

"I know," Jessica said, "why don't my husband and I treat all of you to a trip to the water park? Or are you all too old for that sort of thing now?"

"Hell no!" Joanna said. "I have got a KILLER new swimsuit that will just make the boys drool."

"Then I'm in," Anthony said. "I like drooling."

"Of course you do," Mrs. Adler said. "You're a boy."

"All man, baby!" he replied with a grin.

Jessica Adler refused to smile. She absolutely refused. "Heda darling, I'm certain you have something I could wear."

Heda nodded. Her mother was still in phenomenal shape, so it would work. She felt someone tugging on her arm. Madison was looking nervous. "Let me guess," she said with a smile. "No swimsuit?"

"Can't swim."

"Really?"

Madison started counting off fingers. "No one cared enough to teach me. Low self esteem. Blind."

"I offered," Billy grumbled.

"No, wading in cold water while you eat fish does not count as instruction."

"You weren't even trying."

"It was cold and full of fish and smelled like ass."

"Now you're just being mean. That's one of my favorite soaking spots."

Madison sat back in a chair. "That's what I get for having a best friend who's a turtle."

"Hey, we'll get you a suit, and water slides aren't exactly deep. Even the pools at the end are shallow enough you can stand up in. We'll teach you how to swim. C'mon, it'll be fun. Just as long as everyone realizes that we need to stick together. Got it?"

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Many hours later . . .

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After much pleading, begging, and innuendo on Heda's part, Madison found herself in a one-piece that she was told was cute but conservative, she felt her ass was hanging out of. Heda secretly assured her that she had a fabulous ass and that she shouldn't worry.

Then, she had fun. A lot of fun. Heda had been right about the depth of the water. There was a large pool for just swimming, but the pools at the ends of the ride were easily navigable. And in a stroke of brilliance, Anthony had suggested getting some tinted swimming goggles, she wouldn't even need the cane. If on some weird chance they ran into someone she knew, she could just hang on Heda's arm.

So Madison got her first experience hurtling down plastic tubes on Styrofoam pads towards a soaked landing. She screamed and screamed, and then ran all the way back up the stairs to do it again. There were things that she was afraid to do, such as the zip line over the pool, but everything else was fair game. Everyone was having a good time, especially Joanna. Both Madison and Heda noticed that Ed was paying quite a fair amount of attention to the busty blond in bikini that only barely passed the park's decency standards. But that was okay, since that's just who Joanna was. Part of the reason that she was so hot was that she knew she was hot and was playful about it. And while she would never admit it, Madison realized that the almost 50-year-old Mrs. Jessica Adler was pretty damn hot too.

'Probably not something you need to mention to your girlfriend," Madison thought. When Heda suggested they just float around the park on an inner tube, she was almost reluctant because she wanted to go on more slides, but the concept of being cuddled up with that body in a confined area for a length of time proved too much to resist.

"Having fun?" Heda asked as they approached a long tunnel that provided a little bit of shade for the relaxing patrons.

"Amazing," Madison said. "Amazing fun I mean. Do I ever make sense when I talk?"

Heda laughed. "Somehow, I understand everything you say. Still anxious about tomorrow?"

Madison sighed, tracing Heda's jawbone with one finger. "A bit. Nothing to do about it now."

"And I had to go and ruin the moment."

"No, you didn't. Well, you didn't do anything that another ride on the Raging Rapids won't cure. But really, I'll live. I just can't make up my mind how I want the test to turn out. If it's positive, then at least I know for sure what really happened and where I came from, you know? But is this the 'reality' that I want? Do I want to be related to the guy that I hate more than anyone and his mother, a woman who may have thrown me away when I was born and then went shopping for a better model?"

"Well, you've got friends that'll stand behind you through this. You've got me for sure, and hell, even my parents like you."