two: let's see what woods was talking about

Matt and Samantha receive a text from Woods about a desk left behind by an old tenant and come in early to explore its strange contents.

     For months after Matt and his staff kept a sharp eye on their surroundings, looking for locks to fit the keys into. But the company became the main focus, as certain sections shut down while others were launched. He could no longer give the key threads the attention they needed to be followed, and eventually they became nothing more than an inside joke.

     Nearly two years after finding the first key, the refocus onto the company had paid off as the efforts Matt and his growing team had put in rendered the need for more space. Luckily, a tenant they shared the construction building with was moving out right as the demand arrived. Thus the expansion of red base commenced.

     Matt woke up with his usual routine in mind, expecting to go to work, fulfill his duties as CEO, and return home to his family. Of course that wouldn’t be the case though. Instead, he woke to a message from one of his handymen, Woodland, better known as Woods to everyone, about a desk that the old tenants left behind, and the strange contents it possessed.

     Trying to stick to the routine as much as possible, Matt jumped into the shower (skipping a morning workout all together), joined his family for a brief moment to kiss them all goodbye, and left with a piece of perfectly caramelized toast in hand. He headed to work with a gut feeling that whatever Woods was going on about wasn’t going to be good.

     Matt pulled up into his reserved parking spot and let his Tesla quietly settle into place. He looked into his rearview mirror to see his bright eyes looking right back. The sinking feeling hadn’t dissolved within him, but he readied himself quickly and stepped out of the car, swinging a black laptop bag over his shoulder, and headed towards the blue base entrance.

     “Hey, Matt!” a honey filled voice came from behind. He turned to see Samantha hustle over from across the parking lot. Her deep brown hair was put into a half-up bun, revealing her trendy earrings.

     “Morning, Samantha. You get Woods’ text as well?” They continued towards the door.

     “Yep, that’s why I got you this,” she said through her teeth while handing over a hot cup of coffee. Samantha, like most, used to be Matt’s assistant, but she became more of a sidekick to him as time moved along. He didn’t believe in stern hierarchy, as equality is what built his brand known as Hi 5 Studios.

     “Thanks,” Matt accepted the coffee, “you doing okay?” Samantha’s strides were heavy footed, giving off an abnormal irritation from her.

     She let out a halfhearted laugh. “What do you think?” She held her cup up, revealing the name ‘Sam’ in black marker.

     “Ha! Well at least they didn’t write Sammie this time, you’d be even more cranky.” Matt didn’t have to look over to know she was rolling her eyes.

     “Ugh, don’t even get me started with that.”

     “Well drink up, if not for your crankiness, then for the surprise Wood’s has in store for us.”

     The two of them clocked in and drained some of their cups while settling in, leaving papers for a scheduled meeting in the conference room, and the rest of the laptop case in the office.

     Matt looked at his desk and the lack of space it had for leg room. He shook his head, disappointed at the money that had went into an item that bruised his knees every time he’d go to stand up.

     “Still thinking about that desk, huh?” Samantha leaned against the blue painted doorframe, coffee still in hand. It must have been halfway drained as her typical smile appeared to be refueled.

     “I mean, what am I a damn leprechaun?” Matt let out a sigh while running his hand through his mid short hair.

     Samantha mustered up a laugh. “No, but you’d probably be able to rock green.” Matt smirked, accepting the halfhearted offer. Samantha bounced off the doorframe as he approached it and they left, ready to meet with Woods in red base about the desk.

     The duo made their way through the newly obtained expansion of red base, giving a quick examination of each room that would become a future office and/or workspace. It was eerily gutted with some much needed maintenance. Matt gave a quick thank God for Izzy before redirecting his focus on the task at hand.

     “Woodland,” Matt called out as he entered the tall, open warehouse space attached to the base. The drill in Woods’ hands ceased. He turned to Matt and smiled, always seeming to never take his job seriously, leaving him oblivious to Matt’s next statement. “Where are your safety glasses?”

     Woods just nodded, looking down at the workstation he was building. “I uh, am wearing my contacts today.” He puckered in his lips and bounced his head, letting his volumed hair bounce just as much at the part.

     “I’m not kidding around, we talked about this,” Matt wore a straight face.

     “Yeah, they’re made of plexiglass.” Woods offered another attempt at humor. It worked, as Matt’s façade faded.

     “Whatever man,” he shook his head, “where’s the desk you texted about?”

     “Oh yeah!” Woods threw a hand up. “This way!” He excitedly started to march in the direction of large moving boxes. Matt looked back at Samantha and shook his head out of lack of amusement.

     They moved to a space behind some empty boxes that had a large cheap plywood desk pressed against the wall. It had a few drawers, but most noticeable to Matt was the leg room it had. Even though by appearance it was easily a tenth of the cost of the real wood desk in his office, he couldn’t help but fantasize about unbruised knees.

     “Wow, that’s a pretty big desk,” Samantha inputted from behind.

      “Why thank you, I don’t just let anyone see it you know,” Woods cracked a joke, helping loosen up the tension a bit.

     “So, it’s a desk, what’s the commotion about?” Matt asked.

     “Well,” Woods reached for the top drawer, “I’m sorry to do this to you, but you gotta see what’s inside.” He pulled open the drawer a few inches before it jammed, revealing a small assortment of non-configured locks.

     “Dude,” Matt reached into the drawer and grabbed the fragment of a lock that had a key lodged into it. “You think any key you find is a reason to summon me so early?” His face contorted, trying to stay serious, but the relaxed looked on Woods face made it hard to be firm.

     “No, that’s not what texted you about.” He reached in to unjam the drawer, pulling it out to its full potential. Inside, a blue metal box with a white logo sprawled across it rested.

     “What’s that?” Samantha questioned.

     Woods let out a dry laugh. “Well Sam,” she ignored the nickname, “it’s a key making kit.”

     “Stop,” Matt tilted his head, refusing the believe the absurdity. The threads of the 863 and TS5 keys rushed back to current thought.

     “Check it out for yourself.” Woods set the box on the desk and it rattled like a maraca.

     It had a matching metal handle and two clasps on either side securing its contents. Matt reached forward and released them. The container depressurized a bit. Once opened, a guide with small, compartmentalized writing was on the inner lid. There was a piece of paper inside on top of the contents, as if it was a box of assorted chocolates. Matt slid it off, which showed exactly what the guide was referring to.

     “Whoa,” Samantha and Matt almost said in unison. Inside were hundred of organized small metal bits.

     “Wait, this isn’t a key making kit,” Matt looked at the two of them, “this is a lock making kit.”

     Matt stared at the collection of pins and springs for a moment too long before Woods interrupted his thought process. “Well, I gotta finish building this set, but you’re gonna wanna take this inside where you’ll have cell service.” He started to back away back towards his work.

     “Why?” Samantha gave a half smirk, letting her well defined dimples show.

     “Well there’s something else under it, but I haven’t checked it out yet.”

     Matt shook his head and closed the box, remaining unspoken on the matter. He grabbed it by the side and carried it upright. “Hey Woods.”

     “Yeah, Matt?”

     “Safety googles.”

     Woods saluted him while scurrying back to his drill, completely disregarding Matt’s command.

     Back inside, Samantha and Matt settled into the conference room upstairs. He didn’t want to attempt to use his minuscule desk, not with how displeasing the height was.

     He cracked it back open, removed the paper divider again. “Let’s see what Wood’s was talking about.” Matt pressed his fingers into the pins to see if anything was hidden within them. Nothing though. The guide on the lid was secured with glue, leaving that as useless as well. He decided to lift the tray up which unveiled a shiny metallic inside with two standing false walls.

     Matt dropped his hand to the table hard from the baffling sight. In between the walls were pieces of paper crookedly taped in place.

Author's Note

**Brief disclaimer** This is a re-imagining of a preexisting story that contains real persons. For the sake of receiving entertainment from a new source, the story being presented is NOT 100% cannon with what is seen in the collection of videos provided by the Matthias YouTube channel. This written story is rather an alternate universe and should be treated as fiction. Please view the complete disclaimer in the chapter selection of the book for complete details.