The Collector

Chapter One

There was a star danced, and under that was I born- William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing

    A man walked slowly down a corridor in and impossibly high room. So high, that most days you could not see the ground for clouds. The surroundings were clean, almost sterile,  with dark green plants to break up the white and grey of the walls and decoration. He entered an room through a set of solid wooden doors and was greeted by a clark who motioned him through yet another set of wooden doors to a lavish office. It was large, modern and industrial in style. The man sitting behind it was also large modern and industrial in style. His black hair neatly arranged and his suit immaculate. He did not even look up as the first man entered his office but merely said, " You really do need to stop this madness, this has to be the last one. You can't save them all. We simply can't finance any more, Mac!"
The man who had entered, Mac, looked down his craggy nose and grinned. " I see you got my message. Sebastian, she is the most important yet. She makes more difference to me than all the others combined."
The man behind the desk looked up sharply. This was in part because he was shocked at that statement, and in part because he hoped Mac meant it.
Catching the look, Mac lost his grin and said, " I'm quite serious. If half of what is known about her is true, then all the rest are obsolete. Also, there are extenuating circumstances. You will help me when the time comes, won't you Sebastian?"
Sebastian Grey studied this enigmatic man before him and weighed Mac's words carefully and methodically. One could almost hear the gears of his mind whirring away. " She's just a girl . A nothing except for her..."
Mac cut him off "Oh there is so much more to her than immediately meets the eye. I have been observing her and you wouldn't believe the half of it."
Sebastian Gray looked down again at his computer screen and stared at this woman whose face smiled jovially back at him. And he shrugged. "She better be the last one. Otherwise you will need to be looking for new friends."
Mac nodded and Sebastian Gray rose from his seat to shake to the agreement.