John found a letter next to the bag. Both were on his desk next to the morning coffee. His business partner, Mike, normally left him a coffee, but John had not seen him this morning. He took a sip of the coffee. It was his usual, so maybe he just missed Mike.

The bag was a medium sized drawstring bag made of well worn leather. John could imagine it as a prop for some medieval or steampunk movie.

The note was a little more conventional. His name was on the envelope. He immediately recognized the handwriting when he pulled a single page letter out, but he was unsure why Mike would write him a letter rather than text him.

"Dear John,

My apologies for not being with you when you find the presents I left you in this magical bag."

John stopped and looked at the bag again. "Magical bag?" he said to himself. He continued reading.

"Yes, it is magical. If you reach in, you will find some presents."

It wasn't too surprising that Mike knew what John might be thinking. They had been working together for over a decade creating their company from nothing.

John reached into the bag and pulled out a picture frame of a dollar bill signed by both John and Mike.

"I wanted you to have this. It was from our first sale. Do you remember the night? We signed the contract and didn't have anything to commemorate the occasion. You ordered take out from our favorite restaurant, and gave it to Gus, that homeless man that we used to pass every day to our low budget laboratory, and you asked him for a dollar bill. I was so surprised that he gave it to you.

You promised me that we would never be like Gus. Regardless of our success or failure, we would always be a team.

That night changed everything for me. I knew that we were a team, and that we would weather any storm together. We were able to build on that trust to create the company that dominates the market today. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

John smiled. He fondly remembered that night. It took more than a meal to get that dollar bill from Gus. He haggled better than most boardroom negotiators. John laughed at the memory.

John reached back into the bag, and pulled out a small bag of seeds. Another great callback. He started reading again.

"Can you believe it? We engineered our own plant! Being around you inspired so many ideas, and these seeds are the proof. We were able to develop critical ingredients for life-saving medicines after we learned how to safely and neutralize the toxins found in both the seeds and the plants.

"I am so proud of the achievements we were able to do. I was going to add the awards we won as a result of our groundbreaking work (their words, not mine, lol), but I thought the seeds would be a better reminder."

"I think so, too," John said to himself as he reached back into the bag. THis time, he gripped a house key.

"This is the key to my parent's home."

John stopped. Mike's parents died mysteriously a few months ago, but it looked like Mike was moving on with his life. He read on.

"It was in their attic that I found this bag. My dad said he got it from his time in Southeast Asia, but he was fuzzy on the details. He always looked for the unique and unusual -- and then hoarded it away. How wild is that?

"I also learned that there is a lien on their house. I tried to sell it after they passed, and that is when I learned that it was soon to be foreclosed. I think my parents chose to go on their own terms when they discovered they were going to lose their home."

John's heart started beating a little faster. This was not good. This was not good at all. He rushed to find the next object. It was an RSA Token.

"You probably pulled out the RSA Token. This is to your bank account. Your bank account in the states. I took the liberty of moving all the money you embezzled and hid in your offshore accounts. Don't worry, every dime is accounted for, so it will be an accurate count when the federal authorities seize your assets.

"I won't ask why you did it. I am sure you have your reasons. I imagine it is the mistresses that you keep on the side. It didn't look like their tastes in luxury were affordable, but I didn't spend too much going through your spending line-by-line. I didn't need to. I just needed to figure out why my parents lost their house. You never paid them back for their investments into our dream.

"I won't even ask how you could do this to us. I thought we were a team, but I was wrong in the tune of several million dollars.

"Sadly, I am not sure what will happen first: the company's insolvency or federal prosecution.

"I realize that you are panicking. Don't worry. We are almost done, and I strongly encourage you to pull the last item out.

John jammed his hand into the bag one last time. He reached for his cell phone with his other hand.

He pulled out a small vial.

"This is the cure to the drug I dosed your coffee with. I also met your wife this morning for coffee. She didn't believe me when I told her about your betrayal. Fortunately, she drank the coffee.

"Our seed is very toxic, but we managed to find an antidote for accidental poisoning. I will not know who you plan to save, yourself or your wife. I am taking a dose after I drop this letter and bag on your desk. You did an excellent job entangling me in your web of lies.

"I will close my eyes to remember that night with Gus. Thank you for the success, the friendship, and the sense of belonging. No matter how fleeting it was."