Dr. Zimm landed with his four-member strike force.

Lenard was not on the Corp plane. The robot was still stranded in Ireland, plugged into its charger, spending quality time in sleep mode, being fed a constant stream of whatever news and opinions the Corp wanted their genius menace to know. It was all part of their “closed loop” approach to programming.

Dr. Zimm and his crew rented an SUV with black tinted windows. He didn’t want Max to see him coming for her.

“Where is the GPS tracker?” he asked his field tech.

The woman was monitoring a tablet computer, her eyes fixated on a strobing green dot.

“Still stationary. It hasn’t moved an inch since we received that first ping two days ago.”

“Klaus must’ve stashed it in his suitcase,” said Dr. Zimm.

The tech gave him a skeptical look. “Most kids carry their phones with them everywhere they go.”

“Well, our Polish friend Klaus isn’t most kids. He’s a genius. Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if Max Einstein instructed all the members of her team to keep their phones stowed for the duration of their mission. They need to focus on the project. There’s no time for texting.”

“Yes, sir,” said the tech. “Head north,” she told the driver. “Our target is holding steady, about twenty miles up the road.”

“Load your weapons, gentlemen,” Dr. Zimm instructed the two enormous mercenaries sandwiching him on the bench seat. Both men were decked out in SWAT gear. “This time, we are not taking any chances. We will take Max Einstein down with a tranquilizer dart before she even thinks about fleeing. The board of directors will be very pleased.”

The SUV rumbled up the dusty road. The landscape looked parched, with scrubby plants clinging to life on rock-strewn hills. Surveying the arid scenery, Dr. Zimm was even more confident that Max and her friends were in the area, working on some sort of water shortage crisis.

“It should be up ahead,” said the tech tracking the motionless dot. “That building there.”

The SUV crunched off the road at a sign reading, welcome to nutt, new mexico. Behind it was another sign, identifying the squat building as the middle of nowhere bar & cafe.

There were two cars, a pickup truck, and a motorcycle parked in the cafe’s lot. Dr. Zimm yanked open his door and bounded out of the SUV before it came to a complete stop.

“Lead the way!” he barked at the tech. She hurried into the building ahead of him. The pair of weapons experts brought up the rear.

“Can we help you folks?” asked the lady behind the counter when the foursome burst into the cafe. “The chili pot contest isn’t until Saturday.”

Dr. Zimm did his best to smile without scaring the locals with his pointy teeth. “We’re looking for … my daughter and her friends. They’re all twelve and thirteen.”

“What would they be doing here?” asked the lady. “This is a bar.”

“The bathroom,” said the tech.

“Excuse me,” said Dr. Zimm. The men with the concealed dart guns followed him.

“You all can’t go in there at the same time,” the lady behind the counter shouted after them. “It’s a one-seater!”

Dr. Zimm shoved the door open.

The bathroom was empty.

“Call the phone,” Dr. Zimm barked at the tech.

She did.

A ringtone that sounded like someone laughing echoed off the grimy walls.

“Up there!” said the tech. “On top of that toilet tank.”

Dr. Zimm reached up. Found the phone.

There was a sticky note pasted to its screen:

Dr. Zimm—

Please don’t send me a phone for my birthday because I don’t even know when my birthday is.

Sincerely,

Max

Furious, Dr. Zimm turned to face his team.

“We need to leave,” said Dr. Zimm, marching out of the cafe and into the parking lot. He practically ripped the door off of the SUV and climbed into the backseat.

“Sir?” said the driver, who had remained with the vehicle. “You have a video call.”

“What?” said Dr. Zimm.

“I think it’s a robot,” whispered the driver. “Looks like a kid. Calls himself Lenard.”

Lenard’s placid face filled the small video screen inside the SUV’s command console. He was, of course, giggling.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Zimm. How are things in the middle of nowhere?”

“Max Einstein isn’t here.”

“Yes. I knew that.”

“But she left me a very interesting note. She mentioned not knowing when her birthday is. Well, I do. I was there when she was born! It’s obvious I retain a psychological advantage over her. This is why I’m going to West Virginia and appealing to the board. I should remain in charge of this pursuit.”

“No, you should not. In fact, Doctor, we can no longer allow you to jeopardize this mission.”

“We?”

“Yes. I am speaking for the board. You are an obstacle to our progress. We wish you well in all your future endeavors.” Lenard’s gaze shifted to the driver. “Please initiate protocol Zulu.”

Without skipping a beat, the driver whipped out a stubby air pistol and shot Dr. Zimm in the thigh with a tranquilizer dart.

“What the—” were the doctor’s last words before his head slumped forward.

The two weapons specialists dragged his limp body out of the vehicle and dumped it on a bed of jagged gravel in the parking lot.

The SUV sped back to the waiting Corp jet.

Leaving the unconscious Dr. Zimm stranded.

In the middle of nowhere.