When she arrived at the Smithsonian, Shiori was both elated, and annoyed.


    She was excited because of the atmosphere. Thanks to the discovery of the spell book, the entire Smithsonian looked like Halloween. Almost every public inch of the overgrown museum was adorned with macabre imagery.


    It suits her outfit very much. Which now had a hint of a biker chick going on.


    What she was annoyed with, was with the overuse of it. For a place constantly dealing with death, it is perplexing how the Smithsonian could make something as cool as the Salem Witch into something tacky and gaudy.


    “I knew you''d chosen this spot. Hahaha.”


    Shiori scoffed. She didn''t want to join the crowd at the big unveiling ceremony. But she also did not want to miss it. So she picked a secluded balcony right on top of the press conference.


    To her dismay, one Lindsay Greene is already waiting for her.


    “Hello professor. Astute as always, I see.”


    Lindsay sported her usual wide grin. That, coupled with the pastel yellow midi dress and gladiator sandals, she looked to be in her late twenties than forties. Her actual age.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    “Oh come on, Shiori. Is it that bad meeting me?”


    Shiori had long shed her curt business smile. Now she is actually smiling. Which is a thousand times more radiant.


    “Urghh fine. It''s good to see you too.”


    Lindsay shot her fist upward. “Yearghh, that''s more like it. I''m glad I took this job.”


    “Speaking off,” Shiori turned a bit serious, “why do you need me? If it''s just a simple restoration, you don''t need me. Those undergrads are much more enthusiastic at this than me.”


    Lindsay sneered. “Who said you''re doing then restoration? You think I''m gonna let your destructive hands touch those delicate pages? Pfft!”


    “You…! Fine, I can''t deny that. Then why am I here?”


    “For your unique interpretation, of course.”


    “Huh?”


    “Take a look at that screen right there. Tell me what you see.” She said, pointing at the picture displayed on the projector at the press conference.


    Shiori was intrigued. She looked at it, and instantly recognized what it is. “It''s…Voynich?!”


    “Hah, I knew you''d recognized it instantly. That''s right. The words and diagrams on the spellbook is similar to the Voynich manuscript you''ve been studying. Either they are copied by the same person, or…”


    “Or they came from the same source!” Shiori was too excited to wait for Lindsay to finish. She finished the sentence for her.


    Lindsay''s grin now was widened so much, people would have think that the Joker poisoned her. “So what do you think? Will you take the job? The pay is decent, and you get meal allowance. Is that okay?”


    Shiori waved her off. “Who cares about that! I want unlimited access to the pages. Do that for me, and I would work for free. However long it takes.”


    Lindsay produced a thumb drive from her clutches. “Hehe, I can''t do that. Just text me your bank account details later. In the meantime, here''s the scanned copy of the pages.”


    Shiori was shocked. “You''ve scanned them already?”


    “Of course. I am the professor. I''m your professor. Of course I know what you want. Just take a look at the scanned copy first. Once it is safe for the pages, you can take a look at the actual thing.”


    “Great. I''m off now, professor. Thank youuu…” Shiori wore her helmet as she rushed out of the museum.


    Lindsay shook her head as she chuckled. “Damn! For a goth chick, she could really turned cute and childish sometimes.”


    Without any of them realizing it, a rat with blood colored fur was watching. Even more bizarre, was the rat appeared to be flying.


    As Shiori''s Kawasaki Z1 exited the parking lot, the rat zoom across the airspace.


    Following her home.