Time pirate 2, p.17
Time Pirate 2, page 17
“Well, he’s, uh…” Jerry began before his eyes went wide, and he clamped his mouth shut.
“You must be Francis Johnston,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned to see a mountain of a man towering over me. His biceps were as thick as my thighs, and the fabric of his shirt threatened to tear with the smallest movement.
“That’s me,” I said with a braver smile than I felt. “Apologies, you are…?”
“My name is Joe Petrov, your new boss,” the giant man said in a deep, gravelly voice. “Follow me please.”
Chapter 11
Petrov turned on his heel and strode toward the bank of elevators, and I shot Jerry a bewildered look before I jogged to catch up with my new boss.
“Um, hi, Joe, nice to meet you,” I said when I caught up with the giant man and fell into step next to him.
“And yourself, Francis,” Petrov said. His large face cracked into a surprisingly friendly smile, and there was a hint of a Russian accent on his words. “Or do you go by Frank?”
“Frank or Frankie are fine,” I said with a shrug. “Whichever you prefer. Only my girlfriend calls me ‘Francis.’”
“You have a girlfriend?” Petrov clapped me on the shoulder. “Good for you. Man needs good woman in his life.”
Definitely Russian, I could tell by the way he dropped his articles.
Petrov shifted his direction from the bank of elevators to the staircase next to them, and we started to descend to the basement level.
“Totally,” I said as I resisted the urge to tell him I actually had two girlfriends.
I would need to talk to the women and see how open they wanted to be with it. Joan might want to keep it hush-hush based on her job. It was already difficult being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and she might not want the added attention that comes along with an unconventional relationship. For now, I figured it was best to act like Emily was my only girlfriend until I had the chance to ask Joan what she wanted to do.
“Good-looking guy like you, I bet she’s a looker,” Petrov said as we stepped off the stairs onto the basement level. He headed toward Riggs’ old office, and his footsteps were so big, I almost had to jog to catch up with him.
“Yeah, she’s beautiful.” I smiled as Emily’s face floated in front of my mind. Then I turned my attention to the mountain of a man in front of me. “Sorry, but do you mind if I ask what you need me for? My shift starts shortly, I don’t want to be late.”
“Don’t worry about that, you’re with the boss.” Petrov shot me a wink as he unlocked his office, and then he pushed the door open and gestured for me to enter the room first.
“Oh, um, thanks,” I said.
I stepped into the office, which had been cleared out of Riggs’ personal items. It seemed Petrov hadn’t had a chance to decorate yet, because the space looked depressingly empty, except for a small Russian flag sticking out from a penholder on the desk.
“Have a seat,” Petrov said as he gestured to the empty chair in front of his desk while he made his way around to the bigger office chair.
“Sure.” I plopped down on the chair, let my duffel bag fall on the floor between my legs, and twisted the handle of the bag through my fingers while Petrov took a seat.
“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.” Petrov chuckled when he saw me twiddling. “I just wanted to have quick chat with you, and all my new employees. Get feel for the place, you know.”
“Oh, cool,” I said as I bobbed my head. “Well, it’s a great place to work.”
“Really? You think so?” Petrov steepled his fingers together and leaned forward on the desk. “Why?”
“Oh, um, well,” I stammered as I fiddled with the handle of the bag some more. I felt like I was in trouble or interviewing for a job I already had, it was weird. “It’s pretty relaxed. Good people. Just all around good job to have.”
“This pleases me to hear,” Petrov said with a nod. “And you work here how long?”
“Um, almost three years,” I replied.
“Good, good.” Petrov nodded some more. “Loyalty is the mark of good man. Do you agree?”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” I said with a smile and a nod.
I’d learned over the years of working with all sorts of people that when in doubt, just nod and agree with the boss. That usually made for an easier life, even if you didn’t know what the hell they were going on about.
“Good, good,” Petrov repeated. “You have family in the area, Frankie?”
I tilted my head at the strange question. I eyed Petrov, but the man had a friendly smile on his face and a relaxed demeanor. He could just be making conversation, but it seemed like an unnecessarily personal question for a boss I’d met five minutes ago.
“Some,” I said vaguely. “How about you?”
“Me?” Petrov seemed surprised I’d turned it around on him. “Some family here and there.”
Interesting. An equally vague answer to an overly personal question. My Spidey-Senses started to go off as I tried to figure out what this dude’s angle was. He was being friendly enough, but was he really pulling all of the museum into his office to ask if they had family in the area, or was I the only one getting this treatment?
“That’s nice, it’s good to have family around.” I smiled cheerfully.
If there was something sinister going on here, I figured it was best not to let Petrov know I was suspicious.
“That is the truth,” Petrov agreed with another nod. “And your girlfriend. She is from around here? Family in the area?”
Okay, this was definitely getting weird now. No way he was just making friendly conversation, I was starting to get the impression he was looking for something specific. I ran a hand over my pocket, where I felt the reassuring bulge of the time traveling pocket watch. There was no way this Petrov guy could know about the bait and switch I’d pulled on Riggs, or why I needed to.
Right?
“Yup, she’s from DC,” I answered confidently.
That wasn’t a lie. He never asked what century she was from.
“Good, good,” Petrov said.
“Sorry, not to be a pain.” I gave my watch a pointed look. “But I really need to get back upstairs. Jerry hates having to stay a second past his shift.”
“Yes, of course,” Petrov said, and he gestured to the door. “We talk more later, yes?”
“Looking forward to it.” I hopped to my feet and gave the new boss a friendly wave before I turned and headed for the door.
I could feel Petrov’s eyes boring into the back of my head, but when I glanced back, he quickly rearranged his face into a smile and returned my wave. I gave him one last close-lipped smile before I slid out of the office and shut the door behind me. Then I breathed out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding as I hiked my duffel bag up on my shoulder and headed for the staircase.
Once I was on the main floor, I beelined straight to Jerry.
“Hey, Jer,” I said as I approached the desk. “Did Petrov pull you into his office for a ‘quick chat?’
“No,” Jerry replied with a frown. “That what he just did there?”
“Yeah,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Petrov hadn’t followed me up. “It was kinda weird. He didn’t ask you about your family or anything?”
“Hell no.” Jerry shook his head back and forth, which caused his loose jowls to wobble. “He just asked me when my shift was over and who was coming in after me.”
“Interesting…” I said slowly.
Jerry’s answer confirmed my suspicions. I was definitely getting sketchy vibes off the new boss, even though he had been nothing but friendly to me. The overly personal questions were a red flag, and I made a mental note to look into this guy once he wasn’t hanging around the place.
“You about ready?” Jerry asked as he pushed the rolling chair back from the desk.
“Let me just chuck my bag in the break room,” I said.
“There’s leftover pizza in there!” Jerry called out as I hurried away from the desk and headed to the small break room.
Sure enough, there was a pizza box on the small plastic table, and I peeked in the box. Hawaiian. I wrinkled my nose. Not my favorite, but I’d polish off the three remaining slices at some point in my shift. I quickly put away my things, grabbed my Kindle, and headed for the front desk. Jerry was already standing with his jacket zipped up, and as soon as I rounded the corner, he headed for the door.
“See you later, Jer,” I said as I made my way to the desk.
Jerry didn’t look back, just waved over his shoulder before he tucked his hands into his pocket, hunched his shoulders, and headed out the door.
I checked over the reports and paperwork that was required at the beginning of every shift. I noticed an exterminator company had been around earlier today, and a note underneath the appointment said no rodents had been found, but there was a follow up appointment booked for next week.
I chuckled to myself. Of course, I knew the exterminators wouldn’t find any rodents, because I was the one who’d faked the report as an excuse to get into Riggs’ office.
Everything else seemed in order, so I started on my first rounds. There were still a few visitors milling around the museum, but closing time was approaching, so I informed everyone I saw that they should start making their way to the exit soon. Most of them scurried off immediately, but a few took their time. An hour later, after the last visitor had finally left, I locked the doors and sat down with a sigh in my chair. Then I pulled out my Kindle and opened my latest fantasy novel, but before I could finish a page, I heard the sound of rattling keys.
I glanced up to see Petrov approaching the desk from the stairwell, so I quickly shoved my Kindle under a pile of paperwork and pulled a nearby report in front of me. In my working career, I’d learned to always look busy when the boss came in.
“Frank, my man,” Petrov said with a friendly smile. “How’s your shift so far?”
“Um, good,” I said with a nod. “One hour down, nine more to go.”
“Good, good,” Petrov replied. “You hungry? I can order us some food, my treat.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Jerry left me some pizza,” I said as the alarm bells in my head started ringing.
What the hell kind of boss offers to buy his employee dinner and eat it alone together while the employee is working?
A boss who was up to something.
“Another time,” Petrov said with a shrug.
The mountain of a man headed toward the doors with his keys in his hand, but curiosity got the better of me.
“Hey, did you know our old boss?” I called out. “Riggs?”
Maybe Riggs had sent Petrov to his old position so he could make my life a living hell, even if he wasn’t in charge of me anymore.
Petrov stopped and turned to me while he swung his keys around on their chain.
“Never met the guy,” Petrov replied with a frown. “But someone told me he is bad man. Is that true?”
“I’ve met nicer people,” I said with a cheeky grin.
“Ah, good man,” Petrov said, and he tapped his temple with a smile. “No trash-talking the old boss to the new one.”
“Exactly.”
“You are smart man, Frank,” Petrov said as he regarded me with a curious look. “I am glad to have you on my team.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I couldn’t help but puff my chest out.
Even if he did have ulterior motives, I’d still take the compliment.
“Have a nice shift,” Petrov said before he turned on his heel and whistled an upbeat tune as he made his way out of the museum.
I stared after him until he disappeared into the setting sun. Then I pulled my phone out and texted Lance.
Hey, bud. I need your research skills again. Can you look into a guy called Joe Petrov? He replaced Riggs, but I’m getting some weird vibes.
I sent the text off and waited a few minutes to make sure Petrov didn’t double back for anything. Once I was sure he wasn’t coming back, I dug my Kindle out again and kicked up my feet until my next round of checks.
Just before I was about to get up for the rounds, my phone buzzed.
Hey, Frankie. Sure, I’ll run his name through my databases. Craig’s, too. Weird how? Is he cute?
I chuckled at Lance’s question and then tapped out a quick reply.
Thanks, bud. I appreciate it. I don’t know if he’s cute, but he’s as big as The Mountain in GoT.
I fired off the text before I went about my rounds. Usually, I loved my job. Being all alone in the huge museum at night made me feel like a celebrity, like I’d bought out the place so I could take my time walking around it without the prying eyes of fans. I loved seeing all the original artifacts from my country’s history, and I loved getting the first look at new exhibits.
Lately, though, I’d found that my usual excitement for my job had been replaced with, well, boredom. The old artifacts held less appeal in my mind when I knew I could twist a couple dials on my time traveling pocket watch and get a new artifact from the actual time period myself.
I ran my hand over my pocket again to feel the comforting bulge of the time traveling watch.
I was getting the itch to time travel again. I wanted to walk right out the museum doors, get in a car, drive to Lance’s cabin, and time travel to the first year my dial turned to. But I still had responsibilities in this century, so I sighed as I finished up my rounds and returned to the front desk. It sucked having the ability to time travel and still being stuck in my nine to five, but I remembered the envelope of cash I had back at home in my safe, and that made me smile. Of course, I’d burn through that soon enough, so what I really needed was the money from the signed Jane Austen book. And a way to make the money look legit so I could quit this dead-end job and start having fun.
Just then, I noticed I had another text from Lance, so I clicked it open.
Oh, he sounds sexy. No hits on him yet, but I’ll keep looking.
The sound of me tapping out a response echoed through the atrium.
Gross. But thanks. It’s late now though, get to bed.
I glanced at my watch. Almost three AM. Just a few more hours of my shift.
My phone buzzed almost instantly with Lance’s reply.
Yes, sir.
I shook my head and set my phone down. Then I lost myself in my Kindle until the end of my shift, and when it was finally time to leave, I grabbed my things from the break room and waited for my replacement.
Luckily, Bart was a punctual employee, so he arrived early for his shift and waved goodbye to me as I headed out into the DC morning.
As I was making my way down the stairs of the museum, my phone rang, and I pulled it out to see a number I didn’t recognize. Normally, I’d ignore such calls, but with all the weird stuff that had been going on in my life lately, well, a phone call from an unknown number didn’t seem so scary anymore.
I pressed the accept button.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is this Francis Johnston speaking?” a prissy-sounding male voice said on the other end of the line.
“Uh, yes. Who’s this?”
“Hello, Mr. Johnston, my name is Raymond,” the voice said cheerfully. “I represent Sotheby’s New York.”
“Okay…” The name Sotheby’s sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
“How are you today, sir?” Raymond continued in a chipper voice.
“Um, good, how are you?” I said cautiously.
“I’m wonderful, thank you so much for asking,” Raymond replied. He was almost too cheerful, especially for this early in the morning. “I just wanted to reach out to you about the item you were interested in auctioning with us.”
I felt my eyebrows shoot up my forehead as I made the connection. Sotheby’s was the auction house Lance had been in touch with. He must have given them my details to connect me directly.
“Oh, that’s right,” I recovered quickly. “Yes, what do you need to know?”
“We are very interested in auctioning your signed Jane Austen book, and we’re thrilled you’re considering us,” Raymond gushed over the phone. “I see here we have all of the authentication documents in place, so the item is genuine.”
“Um, good.”
“I’m just going to go over a couple details, if you could just confirm them for me,” Raymond continued. “The item is a first edition copy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, correct?”
“That’s right,” I said with a nod he couldn’t see.
“Excellent,” Raymond said. “And it’s signed by the author, correct?”
“Right again,” I replied.
“Amazing, just absolutely amazing,” Raymond said in an awed voice. “May I ask how you came into possession of this item?”
“Um, is that really necessary?” I asked as my eyebrows furrowed into a frown.
The last thing I wanted was anyone digging into the origins of my artifacts.
“I’m afraid so, sir. In addition to being an excellent selling point, buyers are more likely to buy if they know the unique history of the item. We are also obligated to verify the item wasn’t obtained through illegal means. Not that we suggest anything of the sort, but we must follow protocol, I’m sure you understand.”
“Yes, of course,” I said as I felt my heart slam into my ribcage. This was going to be a problem, and I needed time. “I’m just about to go into a tunnel, so I’m about to lose you. Is it okay if I call you back with the information you need?”
“Yes, of course,” Raymond said politely. “You can reach us on--”
I disconnected the phone before Raymond could finish reciting the phone number. He’ll have thought I went through that imaginary tunnel, anyway. But really, I felt like I was stuck in a tunnel. Underwater. With no air.
I took a few deep breaths and wiped my clammy palms on my work uniform. This was my nightmare scenario. Random numbers calling me at any hour to ask about my pirated artifacts. I realized I was going to have to go a different route to sell the book if I didn’t want people asking questions about it.
