CHAPTER 1
A knock at the door he didn't hear; Ryan was already 5 beers deep. Another knock; Ryan heard something. He went to answer, there was a man in a suit standing particularly up-right.
"Mr. Smith?" the man asked.
A moment passed as Ryan thought.
"Who's asking?" he replied.
"I have been sent to give Mr. Ryan Smith a message," the man in the suit answered. "Do you have any form of ID on you?" he continued.
"I think I have my wallet around here somewhere," Ryan replied.
The man let himself in as Ryan closed the door behind them.
The front door led into the living room where there was a simple grey couch and a half full bottle of beer on it. The TV was playing The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift. The man looked to his left and saw the kitchen; a tray with a grilled cheese sandwich on there. One of everything. Ryan clearly lived by himself.
As Ryan tossed his belongings around in search of his wallet, the man took a few steps forward.
"If you don't mind me asking, how many beers have you had tonight?" the man asked, scooting an empty bottle out of his way.
"Enough to forget my own name, that's for sure, heh," Ryan chuckled to himself.
"You have a lovely home," the man added.
"Thanks," Ryan said.
As Ryan handed showed his ID to the well-dressed man, he asked: "How may I help you on this fine night?"
"My client is looking for a priceless artifact, we were told that you were the man to look for," the man began. "We would like you to lead us to it," he added.
"Hmm," Ryan pondered. "Why would I do that? What's in it for me?" he asked.
"Those are very good questions," the man answered, his facial expression never changing. "The person who recommended you, Max Belnateer; my employer said he would trade you his life for acquiring this artifact," the man sneered.
Ryan was speechless.
"I do hope that you will accept our offer," the man started to leave. "Time is ticking." He gave Ryan a business card, opened the door and saw himself out. Ryan thought for a moment, he was convinced that Max had died many years ago when he hadn't showed for Ryan's bachelor party prior to his wedding with his beloved Lana, unfortunately, that pairing was not meant to be. After the funeral, Ryan had fallen into a deep depression, eventually, Ryan sought out a therapist and took up treasure hunting, he worked for a price of course, and it took some getting used to but, after two years of it, Ryan had finally accepted Max's death and moved on.