Free Severed Threads by Kaylin McFarren

thought I’d see you here."
    "Me either. “Chase took a sip from his champagne glass and instantly remembered how much he hated the stuff. He set it down and noted the growing line in front of the ‘gentleman’s’ bar. "So how’d you get roped into this?"
    "My tight ass aunt got me the job," Ned said. “Thinks everyone should earn their own way. Even if you’re going to school and already got three jobs."
    Chase was briefly distracted by a curvy blonde’s inviting smile. "Sure glad she’s your relative and not mine."
    "You should be. She’s a real bitch. Been barking orders all night, like she’s in charge or something."
    Know that feeling. Chase smiled. If not for Ian’s bullying antics, he wouldn't have bothered to come. He stretched his neck, resuming his search. But Doc had already moved on – cornering a hot Hispanic beauty. Or was it the other way around?
    Chase relaxed his shoulders. He glanced back at his brooding friend. "Say, Ned, you wouldn’t happen to know if Rachel Lyons is here."
    "Actually, I do. She and my aunt have been in the main hall next to that Oriental picture for almost an hour." He tossed his head toward the bend in the room. "Can’t image how she’s managed to put up with Aunt Meg's crap as long as she has." His eyes dropped to the remaining cheese puffs on his tray. "Vultures," he grumbled. As soon as there was an opening, he squirreled out of sight.
    Following his lead, Chase headed in the opposite direction. The farther he got from the bar, the louder the music grew. As he rounded a corner, the fresh view stopped him in his tracks. Overhead, the intricate ceiling towered at least forty feet high. Massive metal beams arched the two hundred foot span. The combination of metal and glass was ingenious, creating the overall effect of a domed amphitheater with an indoor terrarium and three winding balcony floors.
    On the main level, dozens of lit alcoves lined the walls, housing flickering candles, sculpted figurines, vases, pottery – rare, exotic artifacts like the ones he'd seen in Archeology Today . His eyes traveled past the blaring quartet, above the bobbing dance floor to the enormous mural at the far end of the room. The Great Wall of China. The winding fortification had been impervious to attack, protecting anointed warlords for centuries. Even though Chase’s extensive research had dispelled any myth of dying laborers being added to the wall’s mortar mix, the horrific possibility still captured his imagination.
    As he glanced around, absorbing the soaring ceilings, brilliant artwork, bamboo floors and luminous architecture, it suddenly occurred to Chase that Doc’s impressive renovation had to have been in the works for years – perhaps even implemented as the result of Sam’s initial discovery.
    Chase pulled his starched collar away from his neck. He pondered his enormous, arduous task. The job to fill this place truly belonged with a dozen fully equipped salvage teams, but his past association with the professor had afforded him the honor. He swallowed hard, his tongue thick. He noticed another bar close by and plunged deep into the heavy masses.
    "Aren’t you Chase Cohen?" a gray-haired gentleman in line asked.
    Chase nodded. He wasn’t up for idle conversation tonight.
    "Word has it you found sunken treasure. That right?"
    All the eyes in line were suddenly glued on him. The local gossip had apparently been spreading faster than he and Ian had anticipated. The last thing they needed were boatloads of treasure seekers filling the harbor.
    "Sure," he finally said. "About twenty dollars worth of scrap metal and rusty pop cans so far."
    There was nodding and a humming consensus before everyone’s head turned back around. Everyone except the pretty blond he’d noticed earlier. Her smile grew with the intensity of her blue eyes. The slick guy at her side appeared to be entranced by the female bartender’s micro skirt until he noticed the focus of his date’s