Pia reentered the ER in somewhat of a daze. She saw the place was getting back to normal. There were still a few clusters of people standing around, talking about what had happened. The cop who had shown up with the ambulance to pick up the runner was still there, but he was deep in conversation with several of the hospital security people. Pia couldn’t help but wonder where he’d been when the Nano contingent had first shown up and stormed into the ER. A few of the administrator types were still there, but not the hospital president. Apparently, with the acceptance of Mariel’s money, he felt the situation had been resolved; the patient had been seen and the bill paid.

On a side table in the room where the runner had been taken, Pia found her cell phone. She figured she’d take a cab back to Nano—in her cell phone case she kept a twenty-dollar bill for emergencies.

As she retreated toward the ER’s front desk where she intended to inquire about getting a taxi, Pia recognized she was more shaken up than she initially had admitted to herself. The sight of guns disturbed her. It was a common enough occurrence to see armed guards with weapons, even assault rifles these days, especially at an airport, but the memory of seeing Will McKinley getting shot in the head at point-blank range was still fresh, and she herself was kidnapped by men with guns. She’d seen firsthand what a bullet could do to flesh and bone.

As Pia approached the desk, she heard her name being called. It was Paul Caldwell.

“You’re still here. I thought you had abandoned us with the rest of the Nano contingent.”

“My phone,” said Pia, showing it to Paul. “I left it behind.”

“Are you okay? That was a weird experience.”

“Sure, I’m fine. But it was weird, as you say.”

“Hey, how about we get a coffee in the hospital coffee shop,” Paul suggested. “Now that things are back to the usual emergency room stuff, the team here can handle it. I want to hear more about this Nano place. It must be very exciting if things like this are going on every day.”

“Hardly,” Pia said seriously. “At least not in the section I work in. It’s a research facility, and nothing exciting has happened since I’ve been there for almost two years.” As Pia spoke she realized that a lot of things could be going on at Nano that she would have no idea of, given the size of the facility and the staff.

“I’m teasing,” Paul laughed. “But I’m not teasing about the coffee idea. What do you say? I’d like to hear how you happened to come out here to Boulder rather than start your residency.”