Megan knocked on Charlie's door, and then waited. When there was no answer, she pushed the door open half expecting, hoping in fact, to see Charlie engrossed in analyzing his latest creation for the FBI.
There was nobody in the office. There were cryptic scrawls on the board that hadn't been there earlier. It looked to Megan's untrained eye as if Charlie had an answer for them. She sighed. It wouldn't do her a bit of good until Charlie explained it to her.
She stepped back outside the office and scanned the corridor. Still no Charlie in sight. She spoke to a passing student. "Excuse me, Miss, do you know where Professor Eppes is?"
The blonde started to shake her head, and then apparently reconsidered. "He may be over at the library," she said with a faint English accent. "There was some dispute over one of the egg drops and the dean may have called him in to mediate. Or perhaps he was summoned there to judge."
Megan blinked. "Egg drop?"
The blonde grinned. "Oh, you haven't heard? Today is the day the grads and undergrads demonstrate their engineering chops by packaging up an egg and dropping it from a very high place. In this case, the top floor of the library."
Megan's eyes widened. "Oh, I've heard of that." She frowned. "I told Charlie I'd be back…"
Susan shrugged. "He likely didn't have a choice in the matter, y'know? The dean commands and we poor plebes must obey."
Megan nodded. "Yes, the curse of the working woman," she said. "I'm Megan."
"I'm Susan," the blonde said. "I bet I know where we can find Charlie. And he'll be able to wiggle out of this egg drop thing if the Dean knows he has an official obligation to fulfill."
"Great," Megan said with relief. "Lay on, MacDuff." She paused. "If it's no trouble?"
Susan shook her head. "It's no trouble at all," she smiled.
Megan put the smirk down to the blonde wanting an excuse to talk to the very personable and rather cute Charlie Eppes. It didn't even occur to her to wonder why Susan referred to him by his first name.
There were crowds in front of the library and Megan assumed from the noise that eggs were falling and teams were being cheered on. Susan led the way to a side entrance. "The crowd will be impassible," she declared.
They took the elevator to the top floor, and then Susan turned toward the back of the building.
Megan frowned. "Don't we need to go to the front?" she asked.
Susan shook her head. "Oh, no, that's where they are dropping the eggs," she said. "The packaging is going on in the back, so they don't get in the way of the contestants."
"Oh," Megan said.
Neither noticed that a few curious students appear from the stacks and followed them.
The room that Susan entered had some egg cartons and packing material, but it was otherwise empty.
"That's odd," Susan said. "Where is everybody?" She walked over to the window and looked out. Then she gasped, clapped her hand over her mouth and backed away, pointing at the window.
Megan swiftly stepped across the room and looked out. She saw nothing but the roofs of the other buildings and empty sidewalk.
She frowned and stepped back and to the side just as somebody cried "Look out!" and something brushed against her, causing her to stagger back a step.
Megan had just enough time to realize that Susan had rushed past her; arms extended and had plunged out the window.