His head disappeared under the desk for a moment. Susan tried to listen, but heard only the muffled sounds of Joseph rummaging through the drawers. When he reappeared a moment later, he was holding in one hand a battered manuscript, the other, a long shard of metal.
“So his name is Wallace huh?”
Susan realized it was a thought more than a question, and she remained silent. He approached her slowly, and she understood why . The metal object was an ornate dagger, which despite low light, gleamed ominously in his hand.
“What is that?”
“It’s a manuscript”.
“Your other hand, Joseph”
He smiled. “The key to our survival. How long have you worked here?”
“Two months. I was…”
Joseph interrupted. “I’m impressed you were able to put up with Jason that long, although I suspect he wasn’t in finest form the past few days”.
He grabbed her hand and placed the dagger in her palm. “Like i said, you’ve worked with him the longest”.
Susan thrust the knife back into Joseph’s hand.
“Like I said, you’re a guy.”