First Cut
I apologize if this is short. I have hopes it won't be. I also apologize for the cliffhanger ending. They may be mean but they're so fun to do!
Chapter 21
After his realization the night before, William hardly slept. The thought of someone on their side helping an angel was unsettling. Trying to figure out who it could be kept him awake until the wee hours of the morning. But despite not getting much sleep, by the time he was dressed he had figured everything out.
The question was, how would he handle it?
As he knotted his tie, he decided to let things happen as they happened. Grabbing his scythe, he hurried out the door. He was never late and that was not going to change just because a Shinigami had betrayed them.
He found Annabelle waiting for him outside his office. Before she could greet him he had unlocked the door and hurried her inside. "I want to apologize for not walking you home last night."
"It's fine," Annabelle told him, "Ronald made sure I arrived home safely." She looked concerned. "I know you were busy. Is everything OK?"
"Not entirely. Something about the death lists bothered me and I finally understood last night. A Shinigami has been helping this angel."
"What?" Annabelle demanded. "How do you know?"
William put a finger to her lips and continued, "I want you to listen to me. Whatever I say, you do. If I tell you to hide, you do that. If I ask for your help, then I need it."
She nodded in understanding. "What are we going to do?"
"Come on," William said as they left his office. "Act like nothing is wrong. We're going to see Bartholomew. You stay right outside the door."
"Whatever you need," she said, following him down the hall. She clutched her scythe but leaned casually against the wall across from the door as William knocked. After he entered Bartholomew's office, she glanced down each end of the hall. 'I hope he knows what he's doing,' she thought.
"William, what brings you here so early?" Bartholomew asked, standing up to greet William.
"I think I have discovered something you won't like," William told him, choosing not to sit down.
Bartholomew returned to his chair and asked, "What would that be?"
William pulled his death list from inside his suit jacket and laid it on the desk between them. "There are missing entries," he said. "Entries that only a Shinigami could remove from a death list before it has been typed."
Bartholomew raised an eyebrow, staring intently at William. "You think one of ours is helping this angel?" he demanded. "William, that's quite the accusation to make. Just because you feel there are missing entries on your list does not mean that there are."
"Grell's list was also missing an entry or two. Not to mention, how could we possibly miss these souls? Someone has to be tampering with our information."
"Who could do that?" William asked. "Other than someone who works here. Something with a great deal of authority here."
Bartholomew stood quickly, his chair flying out from under him and hitting the wall behind him. "You dare accuse members of my staff of treachery?" he asked, his voice rising.
"Yes, I do," William said, his tone calm.
"This isn't like you William. I think you're focus has shifted."
"Oh don't blame Annabelle," William replied. "She hasn't changed anything. Or was that your reason for putting her with me?"
"I had no reason for putting her with you other than to get someone who did not belong behind a typewriter to realize her potential!"
Outside the office, the raised voices were concerning Annabelle and drawing attention. A few reapers had joined her outside the door, including Ronald and Grell. Several others would occasionally glance at the door while pretending that the argument coming from inside the office did not catch their attention.
"What's going on?" Ronald asked Annabelle, who could only shrug in response. "Bartholomew sounds pretty angry."
Keeping her voice low so only Grell and Ronald could hear, she whispered, "William says the death lists have been tampered with. He believes a Shinigami is helping that angel."
"That can't be possible!" Ronald exclaimed. Annabelle shushed him, knowing that if word got around before William wanted it to, she would most likely find out how furious William could get.
Over her head, Grell and Ronald exchanged looks. From the sounds of the arguing inside the office, William might have been on the wrong track. They would have to wait and see how everything turned out.
"You're getting flustered," William told his boss. His tone was still calm but he was finding it difficult to stay that way.
"Why shouldn't I be? You have no right, Spears!"
William stepped closer to Bartholomew and said, "A Shinigami in power, someone who has the right to come and go freely without excuses. Someone who can remove names from the death lists due to access to all areas of the building, anytime day or not. Someone who is getting very, very nervous." With a smirk, William said, "That someone is you."