"Ok so there's stir fry in the microwave and some mashed potatoes on the stove. Please eat and go straight to bed. I'll be back before you know it." Korra hurriedly pulls on her shoes and grabs her coat.
"Are you sure everything's going to be okay?"
"Yeah it's just the health department and their usual bark. They won't really close down the restaurant, they just want to make a huge deal out of the inspection." She grabs her keys and starts to head for the door.
"Are you sure? Cause I would gladly throw hands if I had to." I stand up from the couch but she rushes to me and pushes me back down.
"I know you would. I'll be fine. Just do what I say and stay put." She kisses my head and heads out.
"Yes mom." The door shuts and I run to my room with Sam hot on my tail.
I pull the box filled with Asher's things off the shelf. Korra made me promise to wait for her before looking through it but I'm bored now and I'm known for not listening to a word she says. Throwing the cover off, I empty the box on the bed.
There isn't much in it.
I place the picture frame of both of us on the bedside table. In the box is also the fake flower pot I got him for our first anniversary. I chuckle at the memory of the confused look on his face when he unwrapped the gift and listened to my explanation of why it was such a wonderful gift. I twist the pot right in the middle and it snaps open. The flash drive in the middle looks untouched. I guess he never used it.
"Ohh it's a… a flower pot?"
"Yeah but it's fake. I know you don't garden so I got you this. You don't have to do anything to it because it's fake so you can just use it to decorate your office or something."
"Umm… sure. Thanks."
"You're welcome. And it you twist it right in the middle, there's a flash drive inside. Just in case you need to hack into stuff, steal information. You know the usual."
"I just knew your gift wouldn't be complete if it wasn't spy related or illegal. There's no information to steal Ree, I work at a pharmaceutical."
I plug the flash drive to my laptop on the table and turn it on. There's a jacket neatly folded at the bottom of the box. I raise it to my face and take a whiff; it still smells like him. There's something underneath the cardigan, a book.
Tea with Hellbozah by Ted Dekker.
Where have I seen this book before? I feel like I've seen it recently but I can't remember exactly where. Or maybe not.
The laptop dings and I turn to it. A window pops up on the screen. Pulling the chair closer to the table, I take a seat. It turns out that there is something on the flash drive after all. Two videos and a picture; probably videos of us. And here I was thinking he completely forgot about the drive.
I click on the first video and it starts to play. A familiar but surprising face pops up first, Asher's boss – Mr. Matthews or something.
"I know what you heard and I know what you want to do but I'd rather you didn't, Asher. I like you, I really do, and that is why I'm telling you this for the last time, do nothing and forget about it."
There's no reply but his face contorts into a frown. He swivels in his chair before standing up. He towers above the camera a little, cutting his forehead out of the frame. He speaks again.
"You have a wife, don't you?"
He turns the desktop on his table around, displaying a very clear picture of me. Me?
"Yes sir."
Asher's voice?
He finally speaks but his voice is laced with anger. I can even hear his breathing get harder.
"A very pretty one too. It would be a shame if something were to happen to her and that little baby bump of hers. So I'd rather you just forget everything you know about the situation and get back to work."
One hand is in his pocket and he places the other on Asher. The two have a stare down, no one says a word for almost a minute.
"You're dismissed. You can get back to the work I pay you for."
Asher leaves the room and the video stops as soon as he turns the camera around, showing his face for a split second.
What the heck did I just watch? What were they talking about? What situation?
I re-watch the video multiple times for about half an hour and try to wrap my head around what I was watching and why Asher made it. It seems like the camera is Asher's phone and it was in his breast pocket. During the fifth re-watch, I notice the date on Mr. Matthews' computer when he turned it around; it was from about four months ago. It's around the same time I believe that picture of me, which I am still shocked he has, was taken. The picture is from when Asher and I went for his friend's wedding on a Saturday. I remember it precisely because, although it's slightly blurred, there's a church in the background and that church is in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
And didn't Mr. Matthews say he hadn't seen me before when I went to his office today? He already knew me and even had a picture of me from what I can see.
I move on to the second video and it's Asher's face that comes on first.
"Ok so I don't want to forget this and I can't write it down. I just found that Adrian's real name is Schulze, Stefan Schulze. He's German I think. I'm going to meet him right now. This ends right now. No one threatens Ree."
"I think I've gathered enough info to get this man behind bars. It's not going to be easy but I can't let things continue like this. I've got to stop this."
He puts the phone in his pocket again, picks up a yellow file and exits his office. He enters the elevator and takes it to the top floor. The elevator doors open and the secretary I met today is right outside.
"Oh good morning Mr. Daulton."
"Morning, Sarah. Is the boss busy?"
"No he isn't. He just got in a few minutes ago and his schedule is free till 11 so you can go right in."
With a smile on her face, she presses a button and the elevator doors slide shut. Asher turns around and heads straight for the huge double doors. He takes a deep breath before pushing the doors open without knocking.
"Good morning Mr. Matthews, sorry for barging in. I need you to sign these papers urgently."
He drops the yellow file on the table and Adrian puts on what I suppose are his reading glasses and opens the file. He looks through the three papers in the file and his expression slowly darkens. He violently tosses the papers to the ground and stands up, slamming his hands on the table.
"You don't want to give this up do you? You are getting on my last nerve Asher, I warned you not to do this."
"I have no idea what you're talking about sir. I just need you to sign my international research papers. If I'm going to supervise our office in Berlin then I need to get your permission as the owner of the company."
Silence consumes the room for a few seconds before Mr. Matthews suddenly starts to laugh.
"You know what? Go. Go to Berlin. Carry out your little one man investigation. Let's see how far you get before you disappear. Humour me."
He sits back down and makes a phone call.
"Mr. Peterson, Mr. Daulton will be going to our office in Berlin for a short supervision. Please prepare everything he will need. Thank you."
He slams the receiver and looks up at Ash.
"Done. Go on your trip, let's see if you come back in one piece."
Asher turns around and starts to walk away. He pauses when he reaches the doors.
"Thank you Mr. Schulze. I'll make sure this 'supervision' is carried out well."
As he steps out of the room, I hear a voice in the back scream at him.
"What did you just call me? Where did you hear that name?"
The video ends.
I stare at the screen at a loss for words. What is this all about? I take some time to piece together everything I've heard and seen from both videos. The date on the file Asher gave to his boss was from two weeks before he went to Berlin.
"Ok so I guess Asher found out something that he wasn't supposed to about their Berlin office. And then he threatened his boss with it and then went to Berlin. What am I supposed to do with that?"
Ok calm down Ree. You are overthinking this way too much. You weren't even supposed to find these videos. The fact that you did doesn't even mean anything. The videos could just be a small squabble between a boss and his worker.
But why didn't he just fire Asher if he felt he was causing trouble?
Maybe because he knew that Asher knew too much. He had too much information in his hands and firing him would have been a dumb move. You keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Besides, it would have been too suspicious if he suddenly fired Ash.
I take deep breaths and click on the final thing on the drive. The picture.
It's a grainy picture of what I think is a warehouse. It looks like it was abandoned a long time ago, with the two windows in front broken and the large barn doors with vines growing all over them. A slight shiver runs down my spine as I look at the picture. It doesn't look like a warehouse anywhere around here though.
I stand up and push the chair aside. This whole thing is killing me. What is all this? I can't 'unsee' any of this. What am I going to do with this information? Maybe I should try to find out what Asher was on to.
No! This is not a Liam Neeson movie, okay? You are not going to 'find' Asher, he's gone. For good this time. You need to rest and stop thinking about all this unnecessary nonsense. You've been through too much already. Don't go around sticking your nose in places where it shouldn't be.
The annoying voice in my head actually said something reasonable this time, something not related to arson. I can't do this to myself, it already smells like the right path to take for me to finally lose it. I've been doing pretty well so far and I would like to keep my sanity in check for the time being.
The front door creaks open and I act fast. I unplug the flash drive and place it back in the pot. I stuff everything on the bed back into the box and shove the box under the bed. I toss my robe on the chair and jump into bed, trying to control my breathing.
"Riona?"
She cracks open the bedroom door and I don't move a muscle.
"She's asleep already? She didn't even eat first. What am I going to do with this grown child that doesn't listen?" She sighs and changes into her pyjamas.
After a few minutes, she turns off the light but leaves the lamp beside me on before climbing into bed.
"Maybe you should have come with me. I could have really used your bluntness to shoo those nasty inspectors away. I guess I did need you after all. I always do." She giggles and snuggles closer to me.
I smile at her words and listen to her breathing and heart beat as she quickly falls asleep. My mind wastes no time in wandering back to the videos I watched earlier.
Maybe I should go around tomorrow and do a little snooping.
Please be reasonable. That means don't do anything stupid.
When have I been known to be reasonable?