A Setup?

A Setup?
ROMAN

I've waited for about five minutes, and Sebastian still hasn't walked out of his office. 

That's it. I'm too impatient to keep waiting any longer. Who does this guy think he is? He calls me, tells me it's urgent, and asks me to come here for Nikki's sake. Then, he doesn't open his door and leaves me stranded in a deserted lobby for several minutes. 

What's his problem?

I stand up and decide to head toward the exit. But then, I don't know why, but I find myself walking toward his door instead. As soon as I approach it, I hear something. It sounds like something bumping into another thing, and sounds are coming from inside. 

Not voices. But other sounds. Sounds I can't discern. 

Impatiently, I knock on the door hard enough to make the wood shudder. "Sebastian! I know you know I'm out here. I don't have all the time in the world, do you hear that?"

I hear no response, but I hear another more distinguishable sound coming from his office. It sounds like coughing.  

I should just leave. What the hell am I still doing here?

"Sebastian!" I say again before knocking aggressively. The door remains closed. I try to open it, but it's locked. 

I can hear him in there. What's going on? I look around the office floor to see if I can find someone who can tell me what the hell is going on, but I don't see anyone. 

"Hello?"

I check the other offices, and sure enough, there isn't anyone around. I can't lie and say that my first instinct isn't to get the hell out of there. My heart's slamming against my ribs mercilessly, and I have a bad, bad feeling. 

What's going on here?

I return to Sebastian's door. The whole time, I'm telling myself to walk out of here and say fuck it, but I still hear that coughing sounds from inside, and I lose my patience. 

I slam my shoulder into the door to get it open. If this all turns out to be a misunderstanding, then I'll pay for the door. Whatever. It's just a door. 

As I slam into the door to get it to open, it doesn't occur to me that this could be a setup, or that I could be in significant danger. 

My whole concern is figuring out what game Sebastian is trying to play. 

The door splinters but opens, and I rush into his office.

I make eye contact with Sebastian, who's seated behind his desk, and my head spins. I take note of his wide eyes, the blood pouring down his chin, and how the entire front of his suit is drenched in his own blood. 

There's a knife lodged right in his chest. 

I race toward him, eyes wide as I take in the scene before me. I can't believe this is happening. "What happened!? What the fuck happened!?"

The coughing sounds I thought I heard through the door were actually Sebastian choking on his own blood. And I don't know how to help him. 

Right now, I don't know what the hell to do. 

I reach for my phone while keeping my eyes on him. I call 911. Sebastian struggles as he tries to say something. He slumps forward. I put a hand on his shoulder and force him to sit back. 

His office is a mess. There was a struggle in here. The problem? I don't see anyone else. As the phone rings in my ear, I look left and take note of the open window in his office. 

Whoever was in here fled from there. 

But how?

"A-A-Angus," I hear Sebastian struggle to say. "N-N-N-Nicole i-i-i-s-s i-in d-d-anger. A-a-a-angus-s-s-s. D-Don't..."

Sebastian never has a chance to finish his sentence. His breath catches, and then he stills. An operator is asking me what my emergency is, but I can't say a word. 

I head toward the window and look out. I don't see anyone. I don't even see how someone could jump out of the window and make an escape. There's nowhere for them to grab. 

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I..." I step back from the window and rake a hand through my hair. "Someone's been killed. Someone..."

I'm asked for details but I'm having a hard time remembering them, especially when I look over at Sebastian's dead form. There was someone in here. I heard sounds. There was essentially the sound of a struggle. I just didn't pay attention to it. 

Who could've killed him?

Where is this person now?

I look around the messy office while the operator tries to extract more information from me. I manage to give her the address after explaining to her that the victim isn't responsive, but the telephonic conversation is cut short when several police officers followed by a man in a suit stop in front of the door.

As soon as their eyes settle on me, all hell breaks loose. I'm told to put my hands in the air, and everything I try to explain isn't heard. 

"I didn't kill him!" I say as I struggle against the handcuffs. "I didn't do anything! I didn't hurt him!"

"Sir, you have the right the remain silent," the man in the suit says. "Everything you say will be held against you in a court of law. Do you understand these rights I'm reading to you?"

I say nothing else as they drag me out of Sebastian's office in handcuffs.

As we head inside the elevator, my racing mind starts to focus on the facts here. It's hard to think straight when I'm shocked and panicking, but now I'm asking myself how all of this can be a coincidence. He called me. He told me Nikki was in danger. 

I came here. 

The office was empty. I'm now asking myself if all those people who walked past me downstairs were his employees. His door was locked. Someone was in there with him. I didn't have to break the door down. Maybe I would've just left without going into Sebastian's office. 

But why does it feel like a setup?

Who called the police?

As in shoved into a cruiser for the second time in my life, coincidentally because of Sebastian Crowe, I ask myself just what the hell I got myself into.