The accounts were done. Every T was crossed and every I dotted. Dave sat back in his chair and beamed. Sure the accounts were for a criminal organization run by a sixteen-year-old girl and employed men that looked like animals and held a mad scientist on retainer, but it was some of the best work Dave had done in years. He couldn’t help being proud, but his pride only lasted for a minute before a nervous knot tied itself in the pit of his stomach.

What would happen to him now? Maybe he should stall for more time. He dismissed that thought even as it crossed his mind. He’d rather face whatever was coming next. Who knew maybe he’d be allowed to leave the compound… more likely he’d be assigned to be Warthog’s bunkmate at least until a grenade or some other explosive rolled out of Warthog’s bed and blew up them both up. Maybe Dave could see if he could bunk with Weasel. Warthog would be devastated.

“Are you taking a break?”

Dave nearly jumped from his chair, did Warthog have a sixth sense that told him when someone was thinking about him? Anything was possible, especially with a mad scientist on the staff. Wait never mind, the doctor might be mad but his experiments lived up to his name. They were dreadful.

“No, actually I’m done.”

The meaty lug’s face fell. “As in done, done?”

“Yep,” Dave closed his laptop and picked up the last of the company files. “Um, I guess I should go report to Molly and give her these. Would you take me to her office?”

“Follow me.”

It wasn’t a long walk from Dave’s office to Molly’s but it might as well had been a mile with how painfully slow Warthog was moving. The awkward silence that stretched between them didn’t help things either and Dave was relieved when they reached the boss’s door and he was ushered once more into shrine to boy bands, popstars and impossible to get out of round fuzzy pink chairs though Dave did not sit in one.

Molly flipped through pages in the folder and files on the laptop asking questions about this report and that report showing a more advanced knowledge of tax laws than Dave had given her credit for. “Nice job,” she said as she stuffed the accounts folder into a packed filing cabinet.

“Thank you.” Dave shifted his weight from foot to foot.

The girl pulled a cell phone out of her pocket her fingers swiping across the screen for two seconds before the device was stuffed once again into the pocket of her ripped jeans. One second later Weasel arrived to usher him back to his office. But the wiry man did not take him back to the office. Instead he took him to the parking lot.

“Are you going to shoot me or something, because if you are I’d rather not see it. Do you have a blindfold?”

Weasel snorted. “I’m not going to shoot you, Dave, Molly told me to take you home.” He opened the passenger door of a modest little car that in no way resembled a maintenance cart or a police cruiser.

Dave gaped.

“Come on accountant I don’t have all day.”

“This isn’t some kind of trick?”

“No, but if you don’t get in the car right now I’ll leave you behind.”

Dave got in the car. Nervous excitement grew as they navigated through the streets, but there were still niggling doubts in his mind.

“We’re here,” Weasel announced, and they were.

Dave gazed at one story rambler. It was a beautiful thing with the fence he’d told Martha he’d fix and the grass that would have the home owner’s association in fits. Too bad they’d have to leave it to escape the long arm of the law. Martha had always wanted to travel now she’d get that chance. Surely there were accounting firms in Bermuda, or Iceland.

Weasel rounded the car and opened Dave’s door for him. “And this is for you.” he pulled out a thick envelope and pressed it into Dave’s hand.

“Thanks?”

“That’s about half of your fee. You’ll get the rest of it in a week or so. Oh, and Molly said to let you know that you don’t have to worry about the cops or anything from that whole Ashley thing that happened.”

“How is that possible? She didn’t bribe the police did she?”

Weasel chuckled. “No, nothing like that. Turns out for once in his life the good, mad doctor invented something that’s actually useful, of course it backfired on him when he tested it, but honestly I think it’ll do Doc good to start over with a blank slate, or a nearly blank one anyway.”

“You didn’t-“

“Not like the Doc. We hit the cops with a lower setting, they’ll be fine as long as they hadn’t made any important plans in the last few days. Molly also called in a favor to her cousin who wiped all electronic trails to you.”

“Thank you.” Dave cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

“Well see you later accountant,” Weasel stuck out his hand.

Dave shook it. “Goodbye, Steve.”

The weaselly man smiled, got into his car and drove away.

Dave entered the house kicked back in his favorite recliner and promptly fell asleep waking only when Martha came through the door, her arms loaded with luggage from her trip. “Honey, there you are. You won’t believe what happened to me these last few weeks, first Tacy dropped my brand new phone into the toilet and Kaden broke his arm jumping off the arm of the couch so of course I had to stay longer and one thing led to another and I’m so sorry I didn’t call you all this time honey you must have been so worr-“

Dave wrapped his arms around his wife cutting off her words with a kiss. “I missed you so much.”

Mary looked up at him quirking an eyebrow. “I missed you too, but what’s gotten into you?”

Dave laughed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”