"But you see Sir, it's not quite safe yet. If I had more time perhaps—"
"No. By the time safety is assured, my need for this machine will be obsolete.
You do wish to be paid for your services Professor?"
"Yes, of course, Sir. Will we be, uhh, settling payment soon?"
"Don't worry about the trivial matter of money. My associate will be by in a matter of minutes to take care of those—loose ends."
The line went dead, leaving the words "Blocked Call" flashing on the man's cellphone. His client had a unique way of filling him with an intense dread. He was dwelling upon the man's parting words. Loose ends. It was a rather singular and ominous way of alluding to money. He had just barely begun to organize his test circuit boards when there was a knock on the lab door.
The Grecian man smoothed his thinning black hair, pushed himself away from the counter, and made his way to the door. There was a loud click as he undid the latch and opened the door.
A tall, well-built man stood in the hallway. One hand was nestled in the pocket of his jeans; the other held a heavy-looking briefcase. A security card hung from the lanyard around his neck. Upon seeing the other man his wary expression vanished and an amicable smile replaced it.
He offered up his hand and the professor took it.
"Professor Iasion. Sebastian Moran. I'm here for your latest project."
"Of course," Iasion replied, "I'm sorry to trouble you, but it's necessary that you give me the project number before I let you in. I must take precautions to protect such an expensive project as this."
"I would expect no less," Moran replied, a slight annoyance underlying his words. He shifted in the hall impatiently and listed off the fifteen-digit code.
The professor gave one quick nod when he had finished, took a step back, and beckoned for the other man to follow him. The made their way into the depths of the laboratory, passing circuit boards and split wires, until the finally stopped in front of a large cylindrical container.
"As your employer ordered, I preset the coordinates and have done all I can in the allotted time to assure the traveler's safety. Of course I can not guarantee your safety…"
Moran gave a terse, understanding nod.
"I suppose you want your money now."
"Well yes," Professor Iasion replied before pausing to add, "If it's not too much trouble—"
"Oh no. It's actually quite convenient. You see I made sure to bring all that I needed to fix up the loose ends."
Again, the odd choice of words. Loose ends. The professor could feel beads of sweat trickling down his neck, his skin felt impossibly hot. He just wanted to sell this blasted project. His client gave him more anxiety than the whole thing was worth. Thankfully, he would be done with this shady client and his odd employee.
Iasion turned his back to Moran and double-checked the machine's wiring. Moran set down his briefcase with a gentle, muted thud. The case clicked open. Then, two more clicks followed. The professor didn't need to be told that the other man had just taken a handgun from the case. He turned around slowly.
"You—you can't shoot me! You'll damage the machine"
Moran considered this. But the spider was whispering to him through an earpiece.
"Quite right," he muttered back to his master. "Lucky for me, I am an expert marksman. Don't worry professor. I won't damage your precious project. I'll just cut off the loose ends."
The shot echoed through the lab as the bullet bit deep into the professor's flesh, killing him instantaneously. Moran moved quickly and dragged the dead man from the machine's interior. The bullet was buried deep in the professor's torso. There was no mess aside for the bit of blood that had gotten on the machine's floor. More blood flowed from the deceased man, pooling on the slick white laboratory floor. His murderer stepped over him, ran a hand down the side of the beautifully complex machine, climbed into the container, and yanked the door shut behind him.
"Now Sebastian," the voice in Moran's ear purred with transparent satisfaction, "it's about time that you paid your comrade Watson a visit."