[Storymode]
Present Day
“Where-“ A fist connected to the side of Winnie’s face, sending a spittle of blood in one direction, “is my-“ Another fist, hitting the opposite cheek, her pink hair with the blood roots whipping around as it connects, “Mask?!”
The angry man standing in front of Winnie was tall, but everyone was compared to her. He clearly had Asian descent, and his English was thickly layered with a Chinese accent. His hair was slicked back, his face filled with rage, his white button up dress shirt was glittering in the pale light that the street lamp offered them. His simple black pants were torn at the knee, and his shoulders were covered in a mix of more glitter and dust.
His companions, who held Winnie by either arm, didn’t look less glittery. In fact, they were blinking rapidly while they tried to keep a tight grip on the skinny girl’s arms so she could take the beating and hopefully they could get the glitter out of their red rimmed eyes. One of the goons who held onto her seemed to have a Jackson Pollock painting sprayed out onto his chest, while the other had half his hair shaved off. Winnie had seen better days, for sure. The 4’11’’ girl seemed to wearing the remains of a boy’s catholic school uniform, the blazer tied around her waist, the maroon sweater vest was just covered in glitter, and the tie was missing from her ensemble as well as one shoe. Exposing her pink, dirty, sock on the left foot.
Her face was swollen and bloody, for obvious reasons, and the natural blonde was showing quite nicely. But the pink was still the main attraction. One eye socket was swollen shut, but the other still had her bright blue eye. Her head lolling about uselessly on her neck. A hand grabs her hair and lifts her head up... And she’s smirking. Her mouth all bloody as she looks into the eyes of the man beating her face. “Hey there... Zhang, was it?” Winnie smiles big, “Listen, I’m a pacifist. And... You clearly are not. Let’s just... Agree to disagree, yeah?” There is a pause, the two goons look at eachother then to their boss in front. Who seems confused for a second, then growls in anger. He lifts his fist again.
“Hey! Hey! Whoa, okay, okay.” Winnie flinches as she sees that fist, “Gods, fine... Fine... What was the question again?” “Where is my mask?! You stole it from me!” He shakes her head, gripping her a little bit tighter. He leans in closer, the glitter much more visible all over his face.
Winnie’s good eye closes for a second or two, sighing. “Well, that’s really a complicated question... I guess to really understand it, I would have to start from the beginning...”
A Couple Hours Ago
Church was not something Winnie had ever attended before... But it was mandatory when staying at Saint Helena-Marovich’s Catholic School. The church itself was attached to the school and the dorm was across the street. Right on the outskirts of Brooklyn. It was a well populated school, but not well maintained. As was evident by the fact Winnie had managed to slip in fake transcripts with ease. She had upset quite a few of the Sisters with her pink hair and her wearing the boys and girls uniform whenever she wanted to. She had spent quite a lot of time in detention. Fortunately, Sisters didn’t use the rulers like they used to.
The church was old with the painted glass windows blocking all the natural light from coming in. The pews were wooden and old, the books dusty and worn. But the school was serving its purpose for Winnie.
She leaned back in the pew, her arms crossed and her legs stick out as much as they could. Today she was wearing the boys uniform, blazer, sweater vest, tie. All maroon and black. Winnie had been unable to get her hair dye, so the natural color was coming, but hadn’t quite reached her eye line yet. Winnie’s head was on a swivel though, the Sisters were sneaky and she knew that more then one was keen on cutting off the pink.
“And then the Lord said-“
Winnie wondered what her father would say if he knew she was here. Was this heretical? A child of a Greek God, sitting in a Catholic Church... Perhaps if Winnie knew more about history, she wouldn’t think it was that ironic, but Winnie wasn’t a history kind of girl. She liked to make her own history.
A gentle nudge drew Winnie’s attention away from the hum drum sermon and she looks to the girl at her side. An equally short girl with a beanie, bloodshot eyes, and a near constant smell of bad weed. The perfect cover smell for a demigod among mortals. She smirked at Winnie, then started to giggle. Winnie just rolled her eyes knowing that the girl was already baked out of her mind, but none of the sisters would dare call out Nadia on it. Weed in their perfect school? Impossible!
“Amen. Now, may the students remain seated. We have to go over some announcements before the class field trip.” Cheers erupted from the students in the back, Nadia clapped as well, but Winnie exhaled. Looking up at the massive ceiling.
“Finally.” Winnie had spent too much time in this school, just for this moment. Bidding her time, using the cover smell of her roommate to hide from the monsters. But here it was... Game time. Go time. Go-go gadget time. She made quite the reputation here at the school, playing pranks, generally being a nuisance to the Sisters. Winnie hadn’t bothered to make friends, knowing that by the day it was getting more and dangerous for her to be out in the mortal world, but Nadia and a couple others had earned her contempt.
“You got a plan, Scooby?” Nadia whispered to Winnie, leaning in so just the two of them could talk. “Think it can top Sister Mary Constance’s balloon room?”
Winnie was not fond of the nickname her fellow students had picked out for her, but it was fitting to a degree. In order to earn some money for Winnie’s various side projects, she took up being something like a private investigator among them or a prankster for hire. Finding cheaters and hard to find test answers were among the various things she did. They started calling her Scooby-Doo and Nadia was Shaggy. Winnie was just happy no one had come up with the Sherlock reference. Setting up Sister Mary Constance’s classroom with balloons filled with stink bombs had been one of the many things Winnie had done merely because Sister Mary Constance had earned the ire of one of her students and they paid handsomely. The entire east wing of the school had reeked for weeks.
“Oh, no. I’m keeping a low profile. I’m looking forward to going to the museum.” Winnie told her friend as she shrugged.
Nadia groaned, “Oh, come on! You’ve been plotting something. I’ve seen all those... Those...” Winnie waited patiently for Nadia to find her words, staring forward. “Blue... Papers. You’ve got it scattered across the room. You keep making some tiny disco balls too.”
Now Winnie was a little shocked at her stoner roommate. She hadn’t been aware that Nadia was watching her when she was making her glitter bombs. But Winnie plays it cool, even laughs a little bit. “Seriously, Shaggy. I’ve got nothing planned. Disco balls? Come on, man. The Mystery Inc. team is on hiatus.”
Nadia pouts and opens her mouth to say more, but an off rhythmic clapping echos in the massive room. Sister Mary Constance stands in front the podium, red hair poking out from under her habit as she looks over the children sitting in the pews now that the various adults who had come to worship had gone.
“Now, my children... We will be boarding the bus in just a couple minutes. I expect all of you to be your best selves. God is watching.” She pointed to the sky, a small smile on her face as she looked over the kids. She closed her hands into a fist, then covered it with her hand as she lowered her hands. “The Brooklyn history museum was kind enough to offer us free entry for the entire year, and none of us want to end up writing lines in detention while the others are learning, yes? No? Good.” She clapped again, “Pew by pew. Let’s go!”
Winnie has to stop herself from jumping up to her feet. She pulled her broken blue backpack out from under the pew, after making sure none of the Sisters were watching. She joined the gaggle of kids as they step out into the early fall air and board the yellow bus.
While on the bus, Winnie did a quick inventory on the items she had hidden in her bag. 10 glitter bombs disguised to look like marbles, one of those cheap pay as you go phones, a sudoku puzzle book, bobby pins, her Wednesday Adam wig, chewing gum, and some dental floss. Winnie knew if she was back at camp her pickings might have been better, but you gotta work with what you can.
A hand vanished into her bag, “Hey!” Winnie attempted to close it, but Nadia pulled her hand out, holding one of the marbles. Winnie tried to grab it back, but Nadia had longer arms then her. “Give it back, Nadia!”
“But whyyyy! It’s soo coooool...” Nadia sighed dreamily as she looked up at the marble in her hand, holding it above Winnie’s head. She marveled at it, and Winnie feared the girl’s reaction if they hit a bump on the bus and she dropped it on her face.
“Listen, if you give that back... I’ll give you the bigger ones.” That got Nadia’s attention, she looked down at the girl. “Bigger? You cant make these bigger....”
Winnie exhaled and nodded her head. Holding out her hand for the marble, “Would I lie to you, Shaggy?”
The trip to the museum itself was short, they probably could have walked and saved money on the bus, but the Sisters probably feared the kids breaking off from the group and going into the city. That still happened, but no one could say that the Sisters didn’t try. Nadia was swept up by her friends the second they stepped off the bus and Winnie was left alone. She watches the group of girls and stoners as they, less then subtly, slip away from the main crowd of goody two shoes who stuck to the group entering the museum. Staring up at the museum itself, Winnie felt a strong sense of deja vu. Without thinking about it, Winnie turned her head while on the top step of the marble stairs and spotted the park bench across the crowded street where only a couple months ago Winnie had sat with Siri. Her grip on her bag tightened... But she squares her shoulders and joins the crowd that entered the building.
Kids and the elderly were everywhere. Each room was a display of the people of New York or Brooklyn more then it was a display of ancient Chinese artifacts. Winnie moves with the pack, keenly aware of the Sisters watching over their flock. She ooohs and awes over the old paintings and the clothes encased in glass, but she also pulls out her sudoku puzzle book and watches the staff. Within the squares of the puzzle she writes down times... Numbers of security vs. museum curators. The rotation between the security, how much time passed between the opening of the staff only doors. Then, she searched the crowds. The last time she had been here, it had been easy to pick out the Chinese smugglers, posing as tourists, but today it was different. The building was packed due to it being the last day the Brooklyn museum would have its Chinese artifacts. Standing shoulder to shoulder with her classmates and strangers, it was hard to pick out who among them was looking for the same things she was.
Granted, the ‘Chinese mafia’ had more time to prepare. They had been casing the joint for months but they hadn’t done the deed. Probably to not draw attention to themselves or to the museum. Winnie was prepared for that, but she was hoping to avoid them all together. The tone in the room was joyful to a degree. People were excited and happy! Winnie felt like the odd man out, but she was a teenager on a mission. The mission had to be more important. Winnie clocks the amount of guards, her little pencil scribbling away on the paper as her eyes scan the people. One right after the other, but her scratching ceased and the wondering eyes locked onto a familiar visage. Barth ‘Bob’ Hunter was the man credited with finding this entire display. Winnie had seen his 70 year old face on all kinds of documents related to this museum and the old toys. Seeing him on old documents and then seeing him standing less than a foot away from the same display that held Winnie’s prize was unreal. Unexpected as well. Winnie’s inner fangirl was starting to go off! This man was a modern day Indiana Jones! Looked it too! He barely looked a day over 40! A muscular 40.
Her jaw had to be scooped off the floor, Winnie had to shake her head and blink a lot. Looking at her notes and then back at him. She had to refocus! How did him being here change her mission? Why was he here in the first place? Would it be rude to ask for his autograph...? But some of her questions would be answered, as another man walked up to Bob. A man of Asian descent with slicked back hair. He would stand out for wearing a suit if he was anywhere other then a museum. It was a simple black suit but it had an ID badge belonging to the museum attached to the lapel... But Winnie couldn’t make out the name. Bob and this mystery man smiled and shook hands, they laughed as if they knew each other! Winnie edged a little closer, watching the reflection in the glass but as she got closer they started to move away. Heading towards one of the staff only doors. It closed behind them as Winnie stood in the recently vacated spot. She snaps her book closed, already walking towards the door but stops dead in her tracks as she sees two men step out of seemingly nowhere and stand on either side of the door.
The pink haired girl wasted no time in turning around and facing the display again. Watching the reflection of the two goons in the glass. They both wore sunglasses so she couldn’t track their eyes, but neither of them moved. Winnie could take comfort in the fact her cover wasn’t blown.
Yet.
“Miss Locke!” Winnie can’t help but jump when a voice called to her, using the fake name she had adopted since school started. Sister Mary Constance is on Winnie quickly, a hand clasped on her shoulder as she starts to direct her back towards the group. “Did you think I was going to let you run off?”
“Of course not...” Winnie managed to resist the urge to look over her shoulder. She had to do her best to look not guilty or like a girl up to no good. “Sister Mary, I was just looking for the bathroom.” Winnie dug her heels into the ground, looking up at the nun with the best sad puppy eyes she could manage.
It works like a charm. Winnie could see the cracks in the womans facade. Thank Hermes for the gift of blue eyes. A loud sigh escaped the woman and the grip on Winnie’s shoulders loosened and she pointed. “The bathrooms are by the entrance. Be quick, Miss Locke.”
“Of course!” Winnie bolted for the entrance.
“Walk, Winnifred!” Grumbling, Winnie slowed to a fast walk as she heads back the way she came.
Rounding the corner, she sees the signs for the bathroom, but she also sees the front desk of the museum. With various staff standing around, selling tickets, and pointing the way for the people who flocked to the door.
Winnie focused on a male figure who had his ID badge attached to his pants pocket. He talked animatedly with a group of tourists, his hands moving faster then his lips as he gestured wildly around himself.
Steeling herself, Winnie moved in. Winnie weaved her way through the crowd, she slipped in right behind him and while looking forward and not at her target plucked the badge from his pocket just as the tourist group he was entertaining broke into claps. The guy smiled, the people smiled, Winnie smiled as she pocketed the ID badge and slipped into the unisex bathroom. She takes up the stall furtherest in, locking the door behind herself. And hooking her bag on the hook. She pulls the ID out and checks out her prize.
‘Sammy Ludwig, tour guide.’
“Sam... Great.” Winnie’s heart ached as she stared at the name on the tag. Plucking the badge that bore her name just seemed like a bad omen. Winnie allowed herself to wallow for only a second, lamenting Sam, Thomas and Saul... Wherever they all ended up. She sighed and turned back to her backpack.
Pulling out the phone, she quickly snapped a couple pictures of the badge. Then put the phone inside her shirt, patting down the sweater vest to ensure that it was well hidden. Being flat chested meant no easy hiding spot there, but hopefully the tie and vest would hide it well enough. She sheds the blazer, tying it around her waist so the emblem of the school was hidden. Winnie puts on the wig, after she pinned it into place on her head. She pops a stick of chewing gum into her mouth then stands on the toilet seat as she waits for the last of the people by the sink to clear out. She balanced precariously on the back of the toilet as she pushed the ceiling tile to the side and pushed her backup into the new space. She pulled the tile back into place and jumped down, clapping the dust off her hands. She even flushed the toilet to keep up the act. As she stepped out of the stall, Winnie made sure to pin the ID badge on her vest. She quickly washed her hands and left. Veering off the path of the rest of the tourists and look-y loos as she went to the staff only door directly behind the front desk. She swiped the badge at the scanner and the light turned green and Winnie vanished into the back.
Having spent a lot of time studying the blue prints of the museum, Winnie knew where she should go... Her plan had been a simple one, at least. Hide in the temperature controlled room for the museum to close, grab the mask and peace outta there via the ceiling. But... Things had changed.
Her own sense of curiosity was overwhelming. What did that guy want with Bob? Was he mafia or was Winnie just being racist? There were many offices in this building, but if Winnie had to guess... They would be in the office that was by the door they had entered. Why else would those goons stay by the door?
After consulting the mental map in her head, she finds her bearings and takes two steps down the hallway when she hears a heavy door swing open.
Winnie turned sharply and pressed herself to a wall.
“-sure? This could upset my foundation...” Slight southern accent. Clearly this was Bob. He sounded... Agitated.
“Of course. We simply want to discuss it with you, Mister Hunter.” Thick Chinese accent. Mandarin, if you wanted to be PC. “Your help would be most... Valuable.” He sounded like he was holding something back. There was almost a playful tone to his words, like a cat playing with its prey.
“Ha. No need to try and throw money at me, Mister Zhang. I don’t do it for the money. I do it for the knowledge.”
Winnie stood very still as the two guys slowly walked past her, neither of them focused on their surroundings to turn her head to see the girl with her back pressed to the wall. Winnie was about to give chase till she heard another set of footsteps and the two goons from the door appeared and followed them at a respectable distance. Winnie pulled out the cell phone and stared at the screen as she felt the gaze of the goons on her.
Just another teenager on their phone. Nothing to see here. Winnie willed herself to give off annoyed teenager vibes, even blew a bubble with her gum, and prayed that her face was hidden enough in the phone that they couldn’t see her face. She looked up once she heard their footsteps go further down. The guards giving one last look around as Bob swiped his ID badge at a door far down the hall.
“It is quite troubling, isn’t it?”
“I’ll say! My life’s work-“
Winnie lifted the phone and snapped a couple shots of the backs of the bodyguards just as the door clanged shut behind the four of them. A little voice was telling Winnie to follow them. Something was off about this entire situation.
“‘Upset my foundation?’” Winnie repeated Bob’s words to herself, as she recalled what she could about the various businesses that Bob Hunter had his fingers in. He primarily invested in museums and was a leading historian on many topics. He lead teams to recover lost artifacts, but he had recently announced his retirement. His leading days were done, so what about his foundation was going to be so ‘upset?’ It had to do with something here, why else meet in the Brooklyn museum?
Winnie was racking up too many questions and it was making her head hurt. She had to get answers one way or another, but stalking the people with bodyguards three times her size probably wasn’t going to earn her anything other then a swift kick to the rear end.
After sticking the phone back in her hiding place, Winnie resumes her journey down the hallway. Going the same way they had come from. There had to be an office somewhere around here that Bob or this Zhang were using...
Winnie passed the door that she knew lead to the core of the museum. Where Sister Mary Constance grabbed her. Winnie tried the knob of the nearest door, standing on her tip toes as she tries to peek through the slanted rectangular window, but could only see the black paper that was plastered over it. She was about to kneel in front of the door and pull out her bobby pins when it moved without her interference and swing open.
Standing before a shocked Winnie was a elderly man with a beer gut and bald patch. He looked just as shocked as Winnie to see her standing there, but then breaks into a grin.
“Finally! You are late, missy!” He laughed and turned around, leaving Winnie in the doorway. “I’ve never waited this long for an interviewee before, but I’ll make an exception for you. Come in, come in!”
Winnie yanked the name tag from her vest, not knowing who she was mistaken for but there was no chance it was Sammy Ludwig, tour guide. She didn’t know who she was being mistaken for, but now was not the time to blow her own cover.
“The crowd outside was rather large and I got lost. Thank you, Mr....?” Winnie stepped into the room, closing the door behind herself slowly but kept her back pressed to the door for now.
“Henry! Henry Appletoss. I have to say, Miss Greene, I’m very impressed with your work.” The office was clearly his, as his name was on the large wooden desk. Two overstuffed chairs sat in front of the desk and the walls were lined with bookshelves that held many historical texts and even some manuals. Henry Appletoss had all kinds of framed diplomas and achievement awards behind his desk as well. He shuffled slowly around his desk, clearly not moving at full speed, but Winnie took this time to give the room a quick scan. There was another door in the back of the office with another rectangular window, but this time an old newspaper covered it. No windows to the outside, and it was just Winnie’s luck that this room also didn’t have the proper air ducts.
If Winnie recalled the layout correctly, the door on the other side of the office lead to the dry storage for the museum. Some items had to be stored in the basement in heavily regulated temperatures, things that didn’t need to be cared for were stored in dry storage. Or it could be a closet. 50/50 shot.
The groans of the old man pull Winnie out of her thoughts, and she steps forward and takes a seat as he basically drops himself into his chair. Groaning as he adjusts, but talking to Winnie quite happily.
“You are the historic preservation’s version of Greta Thunberg, with you on our side, hopefully we can get The youngsters interested again.” He said, “But everyone goes through the interview! No expectations, even for the famous.” He grinned and waggled a finger at her, before chuckling to himself and placing his ancient hand on the computer mouse. He coughed as he looks to the computer screen, squinting. “Now let’s see... Forgot my glasses so this will just be a moment...”
Winnie had grabbed the seat closest to the phone. Which was opposite of the computer, thankfully. Winnie had never done a job interview before, honestly Winnie never thought she would last out in the real world. Not with her sticky fingers and criminal track record. She was sitting on the edge of her seat for more than one reason. Keeping her body turned towards him, her hands played with the back of the phone. Trying to subtly move it so Winnie could get to the wires in the back.
“If you don’t mind, Sir, you know so much about me... Do you mind telling me a bit about you?” Winnie’s tiny fingers slipped under the back, which lifted the phone just a little bit. “You know... Even the playing field a little bit.”
“Ah! Yes, I don’t suppose your agent told you about me. I’m Henry Appletoss, director of this museum-“ Shit. “Head of the Historical Preservation Society-,” Shitshit. “and of course a fan.” He said all this in stride, a big grin on his face as he looked over at Winnie meeting her gaze. Winnie has a polite but good natured smile on her face. Internally, Winnie was screaming.
How the heck had she not placed his name?! He was the freaking director! She had studied the shit out of the layout, but not the people! Plus, what in the name of Hades was a Historical preservation society? The answer was in the title, but still... Who was this poor child who was going to be the new Greta Thunberg of it? Whoever she was, Winnie did not envy her. She probably had some common sense, or was a teenager who didn’t want to be labeled as a history nerd in the eyes of every human being in the world.
“Ha, oh wow. So many titles! It’s such a pleasure to meet you. It’s a shame my, uh, agent hadn’t shared it.” Winnie was trying to channel her inner real estate agent. Henry Appletoss seemed to have no idea, because he was smiling and clicking away on his computer. But a growing disdain was brewing on his face.
“Jeez. These computers... I miss the old days of having everything written down! My old mentor always said that these things would take over the world.” He shook his head and leaned back in his chair, the old creak of the gears was the perfect cover and Winnie yanked on the cord on the back of the phone. Disconnecting it from the outside world.
Just in case this Miss Greene was really on her way in and wasn’t ashamed as Winnie thought.
“Wow, that’s great! Really.” Clearly, Winnie wasn’t paying a lot of attention to what the man was saying. Her face hurt from keeping the fake smile up. “Speaking of... Mentors and people who influence us... Bob Hunter is such a big influence on my work!” Winnie placed the now free hand on her chest, doing her best to look a little emotional.
Henry takes the bait easily, threading his fingers together over his stomach. He couldn’t hide a bit of that smug look, “Oh, really? Well... I’ll have you know...” He looked from side to side, as if to make sure that no one was there. He leaned forward as if he was going to tell her a secret, and Winnie plays along. “He’s in the building!”
Winnie gasped, her hand going up to her mouth like the dainty girl she was probably supposed to be. “Really? I think... I think I passed him in the hallway!” Winnie slapped her knee, “I should have stopped to say hi! One professional to another!”
Henry nodded his head, that little smile still there. “Yes, it’s quite great! He’s here for the final night of his Ying dynasty display. We’ve been so lucky to have it here for as long as we have. Did you kn-“
“Who was he talking to?” Winnie interjected quickly, not wanting to lose this train.
Henry looked a little crestfallen, “Uh, talking to who?” He asked as he adjusted.
“Mr. Hunter. He was walking down the hallway. Talking to a formal man in a suit. Had two bodyguards with him. Don’t tell you’ve got more then two famous people in this building!”
Winnie stared at Henry as he seemed to get a little confused. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but he can’t seem to find the words. “Bodyguards? Huh, I... Um... I don’t think-“
“I think his name was... Zhang?” Winnie pressed the man, she was moving in closer to the desk. She gripped the edge tightly. She was this close to getting some answers!
“Uh, hang on.” He went back to the computer, squinting at the screen as he clicked around. “That name doesn’t sound familiar, but if I remember correctly, this new fangled system should tell me the name of every guest who’s checked in, like yourself and Mr. Hunter.” Winnie held her breath for a spell. “Ah... No, Zhang here. But perhaps take this information with a grain of salt, after all, it says you aren’t here either!” He chuckled.
A sense of foreboding fell over Winnie. Sure, this could be a glitch in the system... Or this official looking man was doing the same thing that Winnie was doing. He was infinitely more dangerous, because he brought back up. But the artifacts were outside with the people... What did this man want with Bob Hunter?
“That doesn’t make sense...” Winnie whispered to herself, “If he was after the stuff, then why introduce himself...?” Winnie was getting flashes of Zhang shaking the hand of Bob out in the lobby. What did he have to gain from talking to him? “The same thing anyone gains... Information.”
The sound of Henry clearing his throat made Winnie snap back to reality. Henry who was leaning in, a concerned expression on his face, spoke softly, “Are you alright, Miss Greene? You got a distant look on your face... Plus you were... Whispering.”
“Uh, sorry. Did you have any other guests coming in today? Perhaps he’s early?” Winnie was grasping at straws here, but she was overloaded with questions. Something had to be answered...! But it seemed Winnie had over played her hand with Henry Appletoss.
He looked at her skeptically with a raised eyebrow. “What are you getting at, Miss Greene?”
“What? Me? Nothing! Networking is all...”
“Oh really...” The skepticism was real and it’s name was Henry Appletoss.
The way he was staring her down made Winnie feel uneasy. Like she was lying to Chiron. Winnie could feel her own facade start to crack like Sister Mary Constance. “Uh...”
“Do you want to meet him?” He asked, his lips curling into a little smile as he finally revealed his conclusions. “Oh... Yes! Could you do that?” Winnie’s shoulders relaxed as he started to smile. Her worry melting off her back. How close she had been to getting made...
Henry laughed as he picked up the phone, “Of course! I’m the director! Hello- Oh... Huh. Hello? Hello?” He pressed the button a couple more times, trying different numbers. “How strange, I’m not getting a busy signal or anything. No matter.” He hung up the phone and stood up, Winnie did as well, but he held up his hand. “No, no. You stay. I’ll go get him! He can’t be far! Sit, relax, I’ll be back.” Winnie nodded and slowly sat back down, but her eyes and body followed him as he exited. Twisting in her seat as she watched him leave. Her body almost shaking as he left. The second the door shuts Winnie slumps forward, groaning and covering her face with her hands. Mortals were so tricky! Winnie had believed very quickly that Henry Appletoss had caught on, but instead... Ugh, it was better to use this time to her advantage.
She went around to the other side of the desk and got a look at the recently updated computer screen. She frowned as she looked at all the sticky notes attached to the edge.
‘P. Base: 45893 Key.’
‘Hun Bday 4/20’
‘2:30 dental’
‘Grandson wants memes’
‘1:30 Olivia Greene’
A quick glance to the computer's clock told Winnie that Henry missed his dental appointment and had wanted an extra hour and a half for Olivia Greene. Winnie was also gonna miss her bus back to school, but that wasn’t a big deal. Henry had waited a long time to talk to this Olivia Greene... Poor guy.
However, the top note got her attention. That looked like a password. ‘P. Base?’ Password basement? Could be useful! Winnie takes out the phone and snapped a picture of it, she wasn’t in this to ruin the guys desk. But thankfully, he still had the proper screen pulled up. The Brooklyn Museum Active Registry. At a passing glance Winnie could tell that it was somewhat new, but pretty cool. It was a list of all the guests in the museum, minus the ones who came to actually view the art and history. So, it was more like a workplace registry. Winnie could see Barth Hunter, Henry Appletoss, and even Sammy Ludwig were all in the museum plus a list of 20 or so other people. What was strange was that the list was slowly growing smaller. When Winnie blinked, a name would vanish from the list. Were they clocking out? Was the museum closing? Winnie took a chance and clicked on a name at random, it pulled up the employees profile. Showing their age and all kinds of stuff only HR would need to know and sure enough, after refreshing once or twice, his profile showed a clock out of just a couple seconds ago.
Fishy. Very fishy...
Not wanting to waste more time here, Winnie went to the backdoor. She tests the knob and smiles as she realized it is unlocked and pushed through. The next room wasn’t the dry room like she thought, but more of a workshop. Probably to do general upkeep on the super old stuff they brought in. It reminded Winnie a lot of her spot in the forge, with the metal workbench, tools for repair, and all other manner of odds and ends. She closed the door behind herself but didn’t feel any lock on it. Seemed she would have to move fast.
There was no exit here, other than the one she had come from... But maybe since her layout had been a little off, maybe Winnie could find a proper vent somewhere here. She scans the ceilings and the lower floor, moving on top of the metal work bench didn’t seem to be doing her much better. This wasn’t quite right... The blue prints Winnie had seen were old, but they were not old enough for the museum to have gotten rid of an entire air duct system.
Defeated and convinced that three months of study was now wasted, Winnie jumps down from the workbench and landed on her feet. She heads back into the office and just as the door closed behind her, Henry rushed through the door. He slams it closed behind him and locks it, then pressed his back to the door. He looked at Winnie with fear in his eyes.
“Miss Greene, we have to get out of here!” He pushed off the door and shuffled over to the desk, quickly rooting around the drawers, “You were right! An... Unwanted guest has found its way to Mr. Hunter side and they have both locked themselves in the basement!” Wait... I was right? Hell yeah! Wait... I mean... Oh no!
“Oh no...” Winnie tried to hide her happiness at being right, but perhaps that came out wrong because Henry Appletoss gave her a look. “I am not joking, Miss! There are many priceless items in the basement, but the men outside are gathering up employees! I barely managed to get away...” Henry ran a hand over his bald head, “So much work is going to be stolen or lost... What will my people do?” Winnie rolled her eyes. He was worried about other people when he had just said the goons were rounding people up? He was one of the people! So was she! He should be more worried about his own hide.
Winnie does her best to look calm, even managed to compose her face. “Aren’t there floor workers out there? Surely they will be hard to take without people noticing.”
Henry shook his head, “The museum is closing soon so we can keep up with our renovations. They are probably clearing out the rabble and then heading home?”
“What about security? More then half of them clocked out in the time you were gone... But surely some are staying and are aware of what’s going on.”
“What? How did you know that?” Henry looked to the computer screen and gasped, “By the rivers of Egypt, you are right... I don’t even recognize these new names! New hires... W-What is happening?”
The Chinese mafia was happening. Winnie knew it now. Winnie was willing to bet that these guards were people hired by them, and they were sending people home early. They were operating from the inside... Why was Winnie so certain? Because it’s how she would have done it if she had a large team. Wiggle everyone into a place of power, make it all look official, and then strike.
Winnie didn’t know whether to be impressed or a little horrified, because she was now in the middle of a hostage situation. “I knew I should have followed them... Listen, Henry,” Winnie pointed to the door, “Is there another way out of here? Through that office there used to be a larger storage room. Did the goons follow you?”
“I... I... Were you snooping in my office?! Miss Gree-“
Winnie grabbed his arm, “Stop it with the ‘Miss Greene’ stuff! If whoever is keeping Bob in the basement can’t get what he wants from him, he’s going to come after you next! Is there an escape outta here?!” The look on her face must have convinced him, there was a second of silence and he nodded.
“Yes, but... The door was covered up by the plaster. I wanted my own private w-“
“Don’t care! Get in there.” Winnie shoved him towards the door just as a knock came to the office entrance.
The doorknob rattled, “Professor Appletoss. You are requested to join us in the basement.” An accented voice calls out politely for a response. To which, Winnie just glared at the old man. Daring him to say something. She gestured for him to move and they quietly tiptoed into the workspace.
Winnie closed the door gently, but even she could hear them banging on the door. The old man was pacing in the back, muttering to himself. By herself, Winnie quickly started to move stuff away from the back wall, knowing the door was there. “Help me or move the bench in front of the door!” She shouted.
He flinched and shushed her, “They will hear us!”
“Listen here, I didn’t come here to babysit you, old man. They probably already know you are here, there was literally one other door in that office, they probably already know about the renovations, and they most likely are breaking down the door right now!” Winnie jammed a screwdriver into the plastered wall, stabbing it over and over again till she had enough space for her fingers to grab onto a chunk. The scraping of the metal on the floor was all Winnie needed to hear to know that he was going along with her plan. Just as Henry pushed the bench in front of the door, the door jerked.
“Mr. Appletoss, I merely want to talk to you.” Those sickeningly sweet words again, no hint of malice, but Winnie knew better. Her knuckles were getting cut up from the plaster and nails that dig into her skin. She was pulling and pulling, but the goons on the other side of the door were pushing. They were stronger than Winnie and used to manual labor... She couldn’t get the wall down in time! They were doomed, and the bench only delayed it.
With knuckles still bleeding Winnie jumped on Henry, gripping his shirt in her hands and yanking him down to her height. “Give them nothing! Delay, delay, delay!”
The workbench thudded against the door again, both youth and elder looked at the door in horror. She gave him another shake, “I won’t let them take anything from you, I will get you all out alive, but you must delay! I don’t know what they want from you-“ Henry can only nod, stuttering and falling over his own words as the final push is given and the bench is shoved away by the door. Zhang strode in, followed by two of the security guards from out front.
Winnie dropped her grip on his shirt and held up her hands as they advanced...
Submitted September 23, 2019 at 05:09AM by Comicfan18 https://ift.tt/31E00dH
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