Chapter 2: The Team

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It was raining the day they held another meeting. It hadn't rained when he left, but it started when Jacques was walking. It was too late to turn back, and he had no umbrella with him. He tried his best covering his head with his coat, but it wasn't effective. He was soaking wet once he reached the building at which they were meeting. This was a new place; a building somehow related to Mr. Prescott's business. He had mentioned a big meeting room that would work better than his study.

Jacques grabbed the door handle. He tried to push it down, pull it, but it didn't budge. He frowned. He searched for a doorbell or any kind of way to inform the people in the building that he was here. He found nothing. Should he knock? He was pretty sure the sound his knuckles could produce wouldn't and couldn't draw anyone's attention. Jacques sighed. Was he here too early? Was he in the wrong place? Was he now supposed to wait for everyone else and get even more wet in the rain? He was already pretty sure he would catch a cold, and right before an expedition that didn't sound that good.

"Are you here to see Mr. Prescott?" said an unfamiliar voice behind him.

Jacques turned to look and saw a tall, tall man. Jacques had always felt short standing next to other men, but this one was even bigger than most. He practically towered over Jacques. He had light brown skin and long darker brown hair on a ponytail. He had a beard that made him look even more intimidating. He looked like he was a warrior of legend, because of his height and his build. This man could probably pick Jacques up and throw him in the air like he weighted nothing. He had green curious eyes that looked at Jacques, waiting for his answer.

"Uh... Yes," Jacques said once he got over his astonishment. "I don't think anyone is in yet."

"Have you tried knocking?" the man asked.

"No, I - "

The man didn't wait for Jacques' explanation. He just knocked. They waited, and Jacques counted the seconds. When the tenth second was going by, the man said: "Huh, I guess you're right."

Jacques resisted making a sarcastic comment. "Let's hope they'll be here soon," he said. "Getting us all sick because of the rain won't be good for the expedition."

The man laughed. "I'm Kekoa, by the way," he introduced himself. "Kekoa Mahi'ai."

"Oh, that's a nice name." Jacques shook his hand. "I'm Jacques Moulin."

"Well, nice to meet you, Jacques," Kekoa Mahi'ai said with a huge, warm smile across his lips. "I'm sure we will become good friends."

Jacques smiled too. It was too early to tell if they were going to be friends, but if Kekoa Mahi'ai was so sure, he could be right. And he seemed friendly and warm, even though they had just met. Maybe it was easy for him to be friends with pretty much anyone. He was also using Jacques' first name already. That helped a lot when it came to thinking about Kekoa as a friend.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," said a more familiar voice behind Jacques. Mr. Prescott walked up and was looking for something in his jacket's pockets. "I didn't mean to be this late, but..."

"Were you reading again?" Jacques asked before he could stop himself.

Kekoa laughed. "Oh, he's done that to you too?" he asked.

Mr. Prescott didn't answer. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door to the building. They walked into the hall while Mr. Prescott left the door open for other visitors. The hall was huge, but it seemed like no one was working that day, or at least that moment, even though it was Wednesday. There were no voices, no footsteps, nothing. There was a front desk with no one behind it. The stairs behind it were leading up. Jacques tried to listen if anyone was upstairs, but he couldn't hear anything. Perhaps Mr. Prescott had given his workers the day off. Mr. Prescott waved at Jacques and Kekoa to follow him, and they walked to a different room. It was a meeting room with a long wooden table and a blackboard on the opposite side of the room from the door. Someone had written on it with chalk, and someone else had drawn a crude drawing in the bottom corner. Mr. Prescott started wiping them off while murmuring to himself. Kekoa and Jacques both sat down at the table, next to each other.

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