Chapter Twenty-One
Monday, October 3, 2022
Archer arrived at HQ well before 6a.m., thinking he would be the first one there.
He learned quickly thaton time, in this case, would’ve actually been late, as Vince Lombardi was known to say.The parking lot was full of vehicles, some he didn’t recognize, others he did.He was half an hour early, wanting to get things set up for a meeting with the entire team, but apparently, he would have to get an even earlier start if he wanted to beat them to the punch.
When he was halfway to the barn, he heard a sound behind him.Turning, he saw Tesha bounding out of the house, soaring over the steps of the deck to the ground as she raced toward him.The instant he saw her, his face split in a wide grin.
Unable to help himself, he stopped, squatting down so he could pet his new friend.“Hey, girl.What’s up?”She wiggled excitedly.“I think so, too.It’s gonna be a busy day.”
She hopped around, tongue hanging out of her mouth, clearly happy to see him.For whatever reason, that made his day.He liked the idea of someone being that enthusiastic about his arrival.
“You ready to get to work?”he asked as he stood to his full height.“Well, come on.”
They walked the remaining distance to the barn side by side.
After punching in his code, he pulled open the door, allowing Tesha to race in first.Inside, he found a buzz of activity.Atticus, Becs, and Evan were busy rearranging the equipment so that what they’d moved to the conference room was back in its rightful place.
“Morning,” Evan greeted, depositing a pile of cords on Slade’s desk.
“Good morning.What can I help with?”he asked after dropping his backpack in his chair.
“You could make the coffee,” Becs told him with a wide grin.
If he didn’t know better, he would think she was trying to set him up.
“You sure you want me to do that?”he asked.“It’ll only be the best coffee you’ve ever had.”
Atticus chuckled.“If you can turn Folgers into the best coffee ever, have at it, buddy.”
“Watch and learn, partner.”
While they continued to arrange, Archer got busy making coffee.He searched through the cabinets in the small kitchenette until he found what he needed.There wasn’t much to work with, but they had cocoa powder and cinnamon.Once the coffee was brewing, he placed cups on a tray sitting beside the sink.He gathered the sugar packets and tiny creamer tubs, arranging them in small bowls, then adding them to the tray.
When the first pot completed, he dumped the grounds, added a new filter and fresh grounds, then put a clean pot under the spout and started the process all over again.While that was underway, he carried the tray out, set it on a desk where someone had placed a box of donuts and kolaches.He returned to the kitchen and waited.Once the second pot was complete, he carried both into the main room of the barn.
At that point, several more people had arrived, including Darius, Elana, Holly, and Charlie.They were assisting however they could, moving chairs from the conference room to provide additional seating.
Jay was the next to arrive, five minutes early.Brantley and Reese strolled in behind him a minute later.
“When are the new hires arriving?”Brantley asked Darius as soon as he was inside.
“I have them coming in at eight.Didn’t want their arrival to disturb this meeting.”
“Good.By then, you should have plenty for them to do.”
“Do we have a new case?”Charlie asked.“Or are we still working on Censorious?”
Archer felt all eyes on him.He glanced at Atticus, then back to Brantley.When neither of them jumped to provide an answer, he directed his question at Brantley.“We’re opening this up to everyone, right?”
“We are,” he confirmed, then looked at Charlie.“Same case, but we have some new developments.”
Movement on the large television caught Archer’s eye.He looked over to see a car pulling up.
“That’s Simon,” he told everyone.“I called him last night.Asked him to join us.”
“Good thinkin’,” Reese said.“He’s got insight, and we need all the help we can get.”
