THE DISCOVERY September 28, 2513

“Matthew! You Go Neong Yung Duh! For the hundredth time get your pigu in here!” Matthew was in the back room, supposedly putting the unsellables into boxes to be shipped off elsewhere. Marcus said they had no value and were just taking up space in his store. He had found a buyer. Little old man and his bag of a wife who run a used book shop down the street. Matthew, being the lazy ri shao gou shi bing that he is, decided his time would be better spent flipping through pages of Ancient Earth Myths and Artifacts. He liked looking at the pictures. Especially the artifacts with half-naked chicks carved or painted on the sides of them.

Flip, flip, flip. Boring. Boring. Boring. Flip. Wait a second.

He flipped back a page. That’s when he saw it. He was sure of it. Right there on page 32. No mistaking it. He read the description and smiled to himself. It was at that moment, he decided he would make his move. He smiled viciously to himself as his devious plan unfolded in his head.

Marcus walked in at that very moment. “What in the Sam-Hell are you doing in here you lazy piece of shi. I told you to pack this stuff up an hour ago. The Lesters will be here any minute. Get your pigu up from that chair, get your tamade feet off the redwood, and get your pigu moving.” Matthew grumbled under his breath, “Chui Se” and started to get to work. When Marcus left the room, Matthew took the book out of the box he had placed it in, and put it in his worn leather bag laying on the table.

After he finished piling the last bit of books into boxes, four in total, he carried them to the front of the store and put them down on the floor. Mr. and Mrs. Lester were speaking to Marcus about payment. “Well, don’t just pile them up on the floor. Put them in their cart. Outside,” Marcus pointed. Matthew grudgingly picked them back up and carried them outside. He threw them violently into the cart and walked back into the store.

“If you don’t need my help for anything else, Marcus, I’m going to go get a bite to eat,” Matthew called back to his brother as he walked past him towards the back of the store. “My definition of help and your definition of help are two entirely different things. So, no, I won’t be needing any more of your help,” Marcus retorted.

With that, Matthew walked into the back room, grabbed his bag off the table and left through the alley door of the shop. He knew exactly what he had to do. Come hell or high water, that pofu was going to give up the necklace if he had to rip it from her bleeding throat.