The Nexus

Chapter 7

Emma was late to work the next morning, but she figured that the only person who cared was no longer there and it would take them a while to catch on to anyone who might be shirking.

When she walked in she soon realized that there really was no one to keep tabs on her because the office was quiet with quite a few people calling in sick. It made her chuckle a little to think that so many people were taking advantage of the death of a colleague that a lot of them didn't really care for. If her goals were different, she would be playing that game, too, and sucking up to the men at the top of the food chain by playing the role of grieving coworker.

But, no, she did not aspire to be more than she was at this present moment. So when the call came in that the owner of a new restaurant wanted a sales person to come and discuss a food and beverage order, she jumped at the opportunity to get out of the office.

The weather was a little cooler today and Emma had to wear an extra layer to keep from getting too cold on her motorcycle.

As she cruised onto the side streets of Denver, she mourned the fact that she would not be able to use her bike for much longer. She considered just moving to a warmer climate for the winter. Maybe Arizona or New Mexico would be better suited to her craving for adventure and solitude. Then she thought about all the snowboarding she planned on doing this winter and she decided against leaving just yet. If winter dragged on too long she would just pack up and go, but she enjoy most of it.

She pulled up to the closed-down restaurant that looked like it could really use some renovation. It was on the corner near an up-and-coming neighborhood, but this part of the neighborhood had not up-and-came quite yet. Emma figured that the new owner might be taking advantage of the low real estate prices in this part of the neighborhood before all the young, trendy, couples started moving in and driving up the cost of living.

There was a black Mercedes parked on the side of the building where a door was propped open so she assumed that she was supposed to enter there. She hopped off her bike and adjusted the messenger bag that contained her computer and the paperwork she would need to fill a new order.

She walked over to the open door and peeked in.

"Hello?" she said.

"In the back office," a man's voice replied.

She wandered in through the kitchen that looked like it was no where near ready to start cooking food any time soon and Emma was a little disappointed. This meant that if her and the owner agreed on a food order, it would be at least a few weeks before they would need it. This was going to delay her commission.

She made it to the back office and was surprised to see a blonde dwarf and his opposite sitting together at a desk.

"Have a seat," said the dwarf and he pointed to a red-cushioned chair to the right of the door she had just entered.

Something started to seem a bit off to her. For one, there was nothing in the office except the two men, and a few sparse office supplies. There was not a lot of evidence that these men were even ready to start thinking about ordering food for a restaurant. She hesitated.

Two more men in suits that matched the big man at the desk came out from behind her and grabbed her by the arms. She struggled to get free and they just pulled her arms down behind her back.

There were a few different ways she could free herself from this situation, but she was curious and didn't want these men to know how lethal she was just yet.

She pretended to struggle more as the two men pulled her over to the chair and forced her to sit. Once seated, they handcuffed her to the chair legs and walked to the wall behind the big man with the pocks on his face. She smiled at them.