Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 27, 2011 0:52:34 GMT -5
Chapter Six – The Accountant
Wyatt pushed opened the door to Lauren’s office and looked in.
A man with medium brown haired had his head bowed over the records on the desk. He didn’t appear to have heard the door.
“Are you the accountant?” Wyatt asked as he stepped in.
The man looked up startled. “Wyatt Halliwell?”
Wyatt nodded. “You wanted to see me?”
He nodded back. “Yeah.”
“I’m not Lauren’s supervisor,” Wyatt informed him.
“What?” the man looked at him confused. “Oh, no. Right. No, I just wanted to meet you.”
Wyatt looked at him wearily. “Why?”
“Because my sister keeps talking about you.”
Wyatt frowned. “Your sister.”
“Yeah,” the man nodded, again. “More about your brother, but you, too. I figured since I was here where you work . . . I probably should introduce myself, shouldn’t I?” He stood and walked over to Wyatt.
Wyatt nodded, expression dry. “Yeah. That would be good.”
The man extended his hand. “Nate Colson.”
Colson? Colson? Why does that name sound . . . “Emily?”
Nate grinned. “That’s her.”
“I barely know your sister,” Wyatt informed him. Sure he’d been the one to hire her. And he’d talked to her a few times when he’d been to The Manor during her shift, but that wasn’t enough to have someone’s big brother check up on you.
Nate shrugged. “I know, but Em’s mentioned you and your brother, and like I said I was already here, so I figured, why not.”
Wyatt relaxed. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, but I can’t chat right now. There’s some problem in the museum and I need you to lock this room up until I get back. Okay?”
Nate frowned. “Why would I do that?”
“I need you to do this,” Wyatt informed him. “It’s probably nothing, but just to be safe.”
“If it’s nothing, why do I need to do anything?” Nate asked, looking at him skeptically.
“I said, it’s probably nothing,” Wyatt reminded him. He couldn’t exactly tell the guy that he thought people were cursed, now could he, so how did he explain this? “Look, there’s some sort of . . . virus.”
Nate backed away from him.
“I’m not infected,” Wyatt tried to assure him. At least I don’t think I am, Wyatt added mentally, glad that he hadn’t taken the offered hand earlier, just in case. He was not letting Emily’s brother get killed. She might take exception to that. “I’m trying to help those who are and . . .”
“Are we under quarantine?”
Wyatt played with the word in his head. “Maybe. Someone locked us in.”
Nate gulped. “You mean we can’t leave?”
Wyatt exhaled and nodded. “I need you to stay here.”
“What if they want to blow us up?” Nate glanced around worried.
“I wouldn’t be too concerned with that,” Wyatt informed him.
Nate looked at him even more concerned. “What’s that?”
“If this disease is anything like I’m guessing, then they won’t need to blow us up to kill us.”
Nate stared at him. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Wyatt shook his head. “I can’t leave, not when my friends are infected. And I can’t call out because the lines are dead and Nathan broke my phone. Any chance you have a cell on you?”
“You just said that we are locked in a building with an infectious virus running rampant,” Nate reminded him. “I’m not getting anywhere near you. And you’re not touching me phone.”
Wyatt sighed. “Look, if you happened to talk to your sister, tell her that the whole bright light moving thing, isn’t working.”
Nate blinked and stared at him confused. “What?”
“She said it first,” Wyatt mumbled. In a louder voice he said, “She’ll understand.”
“I am not involving my little sister in this.”
“Just tell her if you talk to her,” Wyatt insisted. “And lock the door behind me.”
Nate frowned, but nodded. “When this is fixed you’ll make sure someone tells me?”
Wyatt nodded.
“You said we’re locked in?” Nate asked suddenly.
Wyatt nodded, again. “Yes.”
“Does that include windows?”
Wyatt shrugged. “I haven’t tried them, but I wouldn’t if I were you. It’s a few stories down.”
“By maybe someone with a ladder,” Nate suggested.
Wyatt shrugged. “Just don’t let anyone in this room from the rest of the building, unless I tell you it’s safe. If you can get out the window, do it.”
Nate watched Wyatt leave. He stared at the door close behind Wyatt and stood there for several seconds. Then, he took some Kleenex off Lauren’s desk and pushed the lock with them as a barrier. He wasn’t taking any chances and threw the Kleenex in the trash.
He sat back down at the desk and picked up his briefcase. He unlocked it and took out his cell phone. He held it up to his ear. “Matt.”
Hopefully his big brother had some useful advice for him.