Packing for an extended business trip, I found a small wooden box hidden deep in my suitcase. What's in the box?

I had a meeting with my boss this morning. I had lunch at a small café down the street, and then I got back to packing my bag. I had a week-long business trip out of town in less than 2 hours, and my suitcase was still empty.<br><br>I’m not sure where to begin with this. I’m sitting in my hotel room right now, in a city several states away. I’m still alive, so there’s that. I won’t lie, my heart has been racing since I figured out what the hell was going on. I have so many questions. I’m trying to compose myself as much as I can, so I can write this down as clearly as possible. <br><br>My bag was zipped up about half an hour ago. After a few last-minute checks, I was pretty sure I had everything. Clothes, shoes, toiletries, tablet, phone, both chargers, laptop, money and credit cards. Everything I needed. <br><br>I moved the bag to the floor and was about to grab my coat when I noticed something sticking out of the bottom of the bag. I squatted down to see what it was and fished it out. It was a wooden box. I didn’t recognize it. There was nothing written on it, it was a simple box with a small latch on the front. It looked old, I could see tiny cracks in the paint, but it was clearly well-made. I tilted the box back and forth and I could hear something shifting around inside. I lifted the latch and opened the box. <br><br>The first thing I saw was a small stack of cash. A lot of cash. I could tell with a quick glance there was at least a thousand dollars here, and I was wrong - it was a lot more. I started counting and stopped when I figured out I had way more than ten grand. It was all in hundreds. There were at least 50 bills, but I really didn’t feel like counting them all. <br><br>Underneath the cash was a small pile of cards. The first one I picked up was a driver’s license. The name on the license was Roderick Heffron. I recognized the face. It was me. Or at least, it was the face I’ve seen in the mirror every day for as long as I could remember. My actual driver's license was in my wallet, but I still recognized the address listed. It was my apartment. There was no expiration date. I had no idea what to make of that. I put the license aside and looked at the other cards. A few were credit cards. I think I saw an Amex, Discover, and maybe a couple of Visas. One of them was in my name, but the address listed was in New Jersey, and I've never lived there. The others were in the name of Roderick Heffron. There were a few other cards: a Sam’s Club membership, a library card, and a few store cards. I wasn’t familiar with the names of the stores. They sounded made-up. <br><br>There was a cell phone in the box, too. A burner phone, I guess. It was charged, so I turned it on and looked at the contacts. There was only one number listed, and the name was listed as “Dispatch.” <br><br>Finally, I saw a small folded up piece of paper. I opened it up. I recognized the handwriting, it was mine. When I read what I had written, I couldn’t believe it. <br><br>“Ms. R has an emergency meeting at 3:00 in NYC. Be there promptly at 3:00, not at 2:50. Do not be late. Do not contact Dispatch unless you absolutely have to. Do not contact anybody else. Get to the meeting, do your job, and then get back home. Over.”<br><br>What the fuck?<br><br>I sat on the floor for a while, staring at the box and all the shit it was full of. I was starting to get a little anxious, to say the least. Did I really write that note? Or did someone else write it, in my handwriting? How did someone get into my bag? I don’t know what kind of person I am if I can’t even remember writing a note. <br><br>I couldn’t spend any more time thinking about it. I had to get going soon. I still had to stop at a kiosk in the airport to get my boarding pass, and I knew there would be a line. I had to hurry up and get out the door. <br><br>I put the phone in my pocket and I tossed the box and everything in it into my bag, and zipped it up. I figured the best course of action was to just take the bag and go. I would have plenty of time to think about this on the plane, and get some answers at the meeting. I tossed a few last-minute things into my carry-on and grabbed both bags. I locked my front door and took the stairs to the first floor, calling an Uber on the way. <br><br>My flight was already boarding when I got to the airport. I was relieved I didn’t have to stand in any lines at security or the Delta desk. I walked straight to my gate and showed them my boarding pass. The lady at the desk barely even looked at me as she let me through. I walked down to door to the jetway and got on the plane. My seat was somewhere in the middle and the guy in the window seat had to stand up and let me in. I put my bag in the overhead and sat down, settling in for the next hour. <br><br>Mere minutes later, the guy in the aisle seat got up and walked towards the aisle. In the space he made, I saw a woman in a skirt suit sitting across the row from me, in the window seat. She smiled and waved at me. I don’t know, I thought she was cute, I waved back and smiled politely. <br><br>“Hello,” she said, crossing the aisle and sitting in the newly empty seat. “We haven’t met yet. My name is Vex.”<br><br>“Nice to meet you,” I replied. “My name is...”<br><br>“Michael Wright.” She smiled again. “I know.”<br><br>I was taken aback. I couldn’t think of what to say. I was afraid of saying anything. My mind was already racing from the wooden box. <br><br>“What do you do for a living, Mr. Wright?” she asked. <br><br>“I’m a marketing executive,” I replied. “At least, that’s what I thought.”<br><br>Ms. Vex giggled. It was a deep, throaty laugh. “Oh, I see. Well, you might be in a little bit of a surprise.” <br><br>I leaned in close. I knew I shouldn’t be having this conversation, but I couldn’t help it. <br><br>“Listen, I’m going to level with you,” I said. “Someone hid a wooden box in my suitcase with a bunch of weird shit in it. I have no idea what’s going on.”<br><br>Vex pulled out a small wooden box from her bag. We were the only two people in our row, the guy in the aisle seat hadn’t come back yet. I think I saw him near the bathroom, but I didn’t pay much attention.<br><br>“What did you find?” she asked. “Maybe we both have the same thing.” She opened her box and I saw a stack of cash, cards, and a phone. It looked exactly like mine, minus the note. <br><br>“I have everything you have, plus a note.” I leaned in even closer, speaking barely above a whisper. “It told me to show up at 3:00, don’t call Dispatch unless I have to, don’t contact anyone.” <br><br>Vex looked surprised. “I don’t have a note. This sounds like a mission, doesn’t it?”<br><br>I nodded. “I didn’t know what else to call it.”<br><br>“Well,” she said. “Ms. R is my boss, too. If she calls a meeting, we’re there.”<br><br>The guy in the aisle seat was coming back. Vex smiled and crossed the aisle again, sitting in her original seat. I had no idea what was going on, and who this person was, but if she was also an employee of R, I was going to trust her, at least for the time being. <br><br>I sat back in my seat and tried to look calm. It wasn’t easy. I was scared, and I’ll admit it. I didn’t know who I was or what my job really was, and now I’m going on some kind of secret mission. My palms were sweating and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. <br><br>I didn’t know what my job was. I didn’t know who I was, or what my life was. But I was going to find out. I was going to get some answers.