Shay looked at the man walking into the waiting room office and wondered what his problem was; probably the same as the others. He held a package in one hand and a cell phone in the other and had absolutely no expression.
"Can I help you?" asked Shay.
"That package isn't yours," the man said, his tone monotone. "It's for Suite 1333, not 333. This is your package. The delivery was wrong. Look at the address."
Shay looked at the package Myra had dropped off earlier. She picked up the flyer on her desk from the box she had just opened before the thirsty man walked in. She had put a flyer on her desk from the box and thought it was a little strange: Cannon City Cellular: Stay Updated, Stay Ahead!
Shay turned, and the man's phone beeped. "Are you sure?" asked Shay.
The man didn't respond. His phone beeped again, drawing his attention. He tapped through a series of prompts, his movements precise, mechanical like.
"What kind of update is that?"
"System update," he replied without looking up. His voice felt disconnected, like it belonged to someone else entirely.
His phone let out a double beep, and the man's body stiffened. He gripped his phone and the box he received by mistake tighter.
"Are you alright?" asked Shay.
The man didn't answer. His hands trembled as he held his phone closer. He placed the package he came in with on Shay's desk and turned to leave, his movements stiff.
Shay watched him go, her felt-tip pen finally scratching across a new page in her notebook.
Noted... "Package confusion - Cannon City Cellular. Strange behavior. Why did he leave the package behind? Return box of flyers to Suite 1333 tomorrow if the man doesn't return for the flyers!"
Behind her, Dr. Broke's door opened. "Shay?"
Shay turned around, holding the flyer tightly. "Dr. Broke, have you updated your phone recently?"
"Updated? No. Why?"
Shay hesitated, glancing at the package and then back to Dr. Broke. "There's something strange going on. It might be nothing, but... I'm starting to think it isn't..."
Dr. Broke interrupted, "I don't have time to talk about it right now. I need to leave, something personal came up."
"But your 4:00 and 5:00 pm appointments..."
"I already called John Force," said Dr. Broke, pulling her purse over her shoulder. "I couldn't reach Drake Alters. Can you reschedule them for tomorrow?"
"I will take care of it."
"I'll be back first thing in the morning." Dr. Broke paused, one hand on the door handle. "And Shay... be careful. Something's wrong? Something really feels wrong."
"Of course, something weird is happening! Men are sweating like crazy! Cell phones updating constantly..."
"Shay, I'm sorry, I have to go. We'll talk first thing in the morning."
As the door clicked shut behind Dr. Broke, the office fell eerily quiet. Shay stared at the flyer on her desk. The words "Stay Updated, Stay Ahead!" seemed to mock her.
The outer door opened again. Shay looked up and a tall man walked in. His face and collar only showed a little sweat. Her cell showed the time... 4:27 pm.
"Hi, I'm Drake Alters," said the man with a calm voice.
"Hi, Mr. Alters. I'm Shay. You're early, Mr. Alters, but unfortunately Dr. Brokes had to leave early. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?" asked Shay while admiring how handsome he was.
Drake reached into his pocket, pulling out a tissue to wipe his forehead. "I'm early because traffic was lighter than normal. And, I can reschedule for tomorrow. Same time?"
Shay opened her notebook and quickly noted... "Drake Alters - Sweating just a little, 4:27 pm."
"You're not sweating," said Shay, realizing she had said it out loud and didn't mean to.
"Even after a workout, I'm usually dry. Why do you ask?"
Shay noticed the hesitation in his voice and noted... "Drake Alters - Barely sweating. Rare for him."
"I guess I'm not the only one under observation," said Drake, smiling.
Shay closed her notebook. Her cheeks flushed. "Just doing my job. Tomorrow at 5:00 pm, your appointment is reset," said Shay, exiting the appointment calendar on her computer.
"Now, I'll watch..." his phone rang. Drake started to answer his phone...
"Stop! Don't answer your phone! Stop!"
Drake looked at his phone... then hit cancel. "Why did you tell me to stop?"
"Have a seat. Let's talk."
Drake sat down in the chair and looked at Shay, wondering why she stopped him... then he noticed her... how beautiful she looked, blushing.
"Now, what's going on?" asked Drake.
"Have you been getting frequent updates on your cell?"
"Yes, more than normal. For the last two weeks, the updates are coming more often. I already had one this morning. Why?"
Shay hesitated... How do I explain this? What is going on? Why only two men... but he's barely sweating? What the hell!
The door opened; Shay looked to see who it was. Oh...
The office door opened, pulling Shay from her thoughts. Another man stumbled in, his shirt clinging to his chest, dark with sweat. He leaned heavily against the frame, his breathing uneven.
"Water... water please" he whispered.
Shay quickly grabbed a bottle from the fridge. "Here," she said, hurrying toward him. "Sit down. Catch your breath."
The man snatched the bottle, twisting it open with trembling hands. Shay noticed how his hand shook with each gulp. For a moment, he seemed to relax, leaning back in the chair Shay had guided him to. Then, as if a switch had flipped in his mind, he bolted upright, clutching the bottle tightly.
"Thanks," he muttered before turning toward the door.
"Wait! Are you..."
"I'm fine!" he murmured, stumbling out of the office.
"What the hell!" said Shay. "I feel like this office is a water station for all sweaty men. This is getting ridiculous. What the hell is going on?"
"Does this happen a lot in this office?" asked Drake.
Shay turned and looked at Drake, and found his eyes fixed on her. She felt her cheeks warm under his steady gaze again.
"Only today, but today seems to be the day for sweaty men acting crazy." Shay opened her notebook and noted... "Why am I blushing? Damn, he's hot. I feel..."
"Lucky me, then," said Drake... looking at Shay while she noted her notebook so she wouldn't look at him. She's beautiful, inside out... now she's noticed me watching her, and she's blushing again. She's so hot when she blushes.
Shay noted in her notebook... "Another man. Sweating. Asked for water. Panicked... left."
"I don't know what's going on, but it's all connected."
Shay noted and bolded with her felt-tip pen... "Sweating men that go crazy when their cell updates. Hmm... connected. I'm going to keep this to myself for a while."
"You think it's more than the heat?"
"It's not the heat. Have you seen a single woman acting like this today? No, it's only men... well most men."
"That's... strange," said Drake.
Then the door opened again. Shay was relieved that it was Billy Stream, a young man that cleans at night to help pay for his college tuition.
"Hi Shay," said Billy while pushing his cleaning cart inside the office.
"Hey, Billy," said Shay, then she noticed he wasn't sweating. "You're not sweating like the others."
"I don't usually sweat much. It's a gland disorder. I have to make sure I drink a lot of water."
Shay scribbled in her notebook... "Billy Stream: Sweating lightly. Gland problem."
"Maybe that's why you're so calm," said Drake.
"Billy, this is Mr. Alters."
"You can call me Drake."
"Nice to meet you. I'm just here to do my nightly cleaning," said Billy, standing behind his supply cleaning cart.
"Billy, I have the same problem, and it's a good thing for once," said Drake.
"You are right about that, Drake. But Shay, I've noticed most of the men in this building sweating out of control, acting weirder... it's not just here."
"What else?" asked Drake.
"When I went to lunch today, I kept seeing men sweating heavily, some so heavy they looked like they just came from a heavy workout. It's really weird, Shay. I don't see women sweating like that... like you're not sweating. Do you know what is going on?"
"Yes, I've noticed the same and more. And I will figure this out. I'm tired of being the water lady," said Shay.
"Water lady?" asked Billy.
"I'll explain it later," said Shay.
"So, what do we do?" asked Drake.
Before Shay could answer either question, the door opened, and Det. Susan "Susie" Ques walked in.
"Shay, you got a minute?" asked Det. Ques.
"Yes, and I already know what you are going to ask. So, come over and have a seat. This is Drake Alters."
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Drake."
"Hi, Drake. Nice to meet you. I'm Det. Susan Ques."
"Susie, have you seen it? The sweating men?" asked Shay.
"Yeah," said Susie, pulling out her phone to glance at a recent report. "It's not just here. One officer went down yesterday during roll call. Drenched in sweat, pale as hell. The EMTs said dehydration, but it didn't add up. His wife swears he drinks more water than anyone she knows. And he's not the only one. It's spreading fast."
Shay noted what Susie said in her notebook while she was talking.
"Have you noticed anything about their cell phones?" asked Shay.
"What do you mean?" asked Susie.
Shay held up the flyer on her desk: Stay Updated, Stay Ahead! "This guy came in earlier, and we received the wrong package, and he brought the package he received by mistake. When his phone beeped, he started updating his cell phone super-fast... like he wasn't in control. It was just creepy! He put down our package and left without his package. Just crazy!"
Drake interrupted. "What are you suggesting? That this is some kind of..."