Read Online SUMMATION by Daniel Syverson - Free Book Online Page A

It
was no different than if he had come across it at the bottom of a lake, or in
the ocean, right?
               He couldn't do anything more today, but that
didn't matter. No one had been down here in who knew how many years, and after
the way he smelled yesterday, no one was going to be rushing down. Tomorrow, he'd
be back. Tomorrow, he'd bring the right tools, and the box, and the treasure
within it, would be his.
               But tonight? Tonight he would try to find out
what was in that box. Plus, a little celebration would certainly be justified. More than justified. He went upstairs to shut off the water. Time to get out of
here. It had been quite a while since he'd called in sick - at least a month or
so. And this time it wasn't even for a hangover - they'd know that. He had
showed up, right? Anybody else would have gotten sick on a job like this. No,
this might be a good day to head on out. Besides, he'd cleaned the room, right?
               Now that he had justified his decision to go
home early, he could think about more important things, like what he would do
with all the money he'd soon be getting. He would have to lay a little low, of
course, to avoid suspicion.
               He'd given this type of situation a lot of
thought in the past.
               Finally, after all this time. Oh, he would have
the last laugh alright.
               He wondered what was inside. Probably a cache of
gold coins. Maybe some jewelry. He'd find a fence and carefully dump it,
perhaps a little at a time, or maybe in multiple places, and then, oh then...
               A life of leisure. A life with the ladies. The good ones.
               He'd stay just long enough to pack up his - no,
he wouldn't pack - he had nothing worth keeping. He'd start over.
               He was still living the fantasy when he arrived
back at his starting point. Seeing no one around, he packed up and checked out.
Thinking better about it, he went back to the shower room.
               Man, his boss hadn't been kidding. Or
exaggerating. That place reeked. He closed up the garbage and ran the
disgusting bag out to the dumpster. Coming back, he propped the door open,
making sure the fan was on. Good enough. Then he wrote a quick note - sure beat
talking to the guy face to face.
     
                Finished the room, put away hoses. Emptied
stuff in shower. Went home sick.
     Frank .
     
               Looking at the note, he thought a moment. He
didn't want anybody checking on things down below, and perhaps finding what he
had found. He thought a moment, then re-wrote the note. He was so proud of
himself for thinking like this. Thinking ahead.
     
                           Finished down below, but it still
reeks. I'll give it a final rinse, and set up fans          tomorrow. I cleaned
up the shower. Went home sick, probably from down below.
                                                                                                   Frank.
     
               What were they going to do, fire him? He slipped
out, unseen, making sure no one saw him on the way out. He felt like a kid
again, skipping school, and just like then, he was going for a beer. He felt
good, almost giddy. Almost enough to skip down the street.
               Almost, but not quite.
               He was in great spirits, a place he hadn't been
in for a long, long while. Walking, almost bouncing into the club, the
bartender was a little taken aback. Especially after his abrupt exit last
night.
               Frankie seemed a little too happy. Odd,
Frankie didn't seem the type to be doing drugs.
               "Frankie? Everything okay pal?"
               "Okay? Hey, it couldn't be better. Set me
up, will ya?" Frankie sat down, same