He heard the door slam in the background, but They had faded from his mind. Austin clicked on a desktop item and scrolled through some useless documents until he found the one he wanted. A few more clicks and he was finished. His phone dinged softly to assure him it was safe. Austin logged off and stood up.
“Find it?”
The woman was back, her voice as icy as ever. Austin smiled.
“Yes ma’am.”
He snatched the first thing his hand came into contact with and walked right out. It wasn’t until he had reached the street that he realized he had grabbed a stapler. He shrugged. Let her think what she wanted. He glanced at his watch. Time to get this show on the road. His meeting with Tom faded from his mind as he walked on.

“Look, I already told you, I’m working on it.” Austin said, running his hands through his hair for the fourth time.
“The deadline was an hour ago.” Patrick growled.
“I need more time.” Austin begged.
“Time is the one thing you don’t have!” Patrick shouted. “You had three days. Three whole days to do what should have taken you three hours!”
“There were complications!” Austin shouted back. “You’re lucky I even got close in three days! You wouldn’t be able to do it in three YEARS!”
Patrick stood up. “Which is why I hired you. You’re supposed to be the expert. Not me.”
“Give me more time and I can find him. I will find him.” Austin pleaded
“And why should I trust you?” Patrick snarled, leaning forward.
“Have I ever failed you before?” Austin said, quieter now. He couldn’t afford to lose this job.
Patrick paused and Austin could feel his heartbeat pounding like a sledgehammer.
“You had three days.” Patrick paused and Austin felt his heart upgrade from sledgehammer to insane psychopath in control of a sledgehammer.
“I can do it,” Austin repeated.
There was a tense silence.
“One more day.”
Austin closed his eyes in relief.
“And if you fail, I will personally destroy you. Make no doubt about it.”
Patrick turned around and started straightening his tie in a mirror.  After a moment he seemed to realize Austin was still sitting there.
“Get out!” He shouted irritably.
Austin jerked and stood up. “Thank you.”
He opened the door and looked back one more time. “I will find him.”
As he walked out of the office, he could hear Patrick calling after him.
“Your life depends on it.”
Austin stepped out onto the snowy streets again and sighed. Back to work. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and reread it. He didn’t really need to, he had the address burned in his mind. Habit, he supposed. He folded it up along the well creased lines and slipped it back into his pocket.