by David Barton
“It was but it was also an unofficial way of asking you out I guess.”
Suddenly everything went away and I was left with the title of boyfriend. I liked it. “Fine by me.”
“Good.” We stayed there just smiling at each other for what seemed like one glorious life time. Then her words brought me back down from cloud nine. “What are you doing sitting at Timmy’s desk?”
“I asked him for a favour. He never got back to me so I thought I’d come see him.”
“What kind of favour? It wasn’t to do with money was it? Or this article?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry I involved him. He doesn’t know what we’re doing and I trust him.”
“It’s not that.”
She suddenly looked even more worried. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been getting some weird phone calls.”
“Like someone breathing?”
“No, there’s a guy on the other line. He keeps talking about me.”
“About you? How do you mean?”
“He keeps bringing up things from my past. Things I’ve done and some of them aren’t very nice.”
A tear slowly trickled down her cheek. I lifted my hand up and brushed it away. “How would someone know about your private life?”
“I’m sure it’s just someone from my childhood screwing around like an old best friend or something.”
“You wouldn’t be reacting this way if it was. Is there something you’re not telling me?” I remembered what the masked hero had said about those photos of her. She must be in some kind of danger. Was it the article or was there something about her unsavoury past that had come back to haunt her.
“I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably is just an old friend.”
“Probably.” I still knew she was holding something back but pushing her wasn’t going to make her tell me. Leaving it would give me a better chance of finding out another time.
“So what does your masked friend want to talk to me about?” I could see the corner of her mouth almost curling into a smile.
I decided to ignore it. “I don’t know, he didn’t really say. He just said he needed to chat with you.”
“Well, maybe he’ll pop round tonight. Maybe you should be there just in case he is a little weird.”
I contemplated telling her he was asleep on my sofa right now but what if he wasn’t there anymore. If I took her there I would definitely look crazy. “Sure, tonight sounds good. It’ll be like a little stakeout.”
“I best get some food in then, Chinese food sound good?”
“Sounds delicious. I’ll be around yours just before it gets dark.”
“Is your friend more of a night person then?” Something in her voice told me she had a double meaning behind her words. I didn’t bother asking what and just nodded. “See you tonight then. I best get back to work before Harvey complains.”
“Ok.”
“And just so you know, you have nothing to worry about with the new guy. He’s gay.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“Sorry. Not worried, just jealous.”
“Just get back to work.” She giggled as she left me at my friend’s desk. I watched her walk taking in all her beauty. Especially the cute way her butt wiggled as she walked.
Once she was seated I got up and walked over to Harvey’s office door. I knocked, getting a wave as a reply. Before I could take a seat Harvey started speaking, “Look I know I’ve given your desk to someone else already but the offer still stands for your job back after you and Felicity land this article.”
“I wasn’t coming in here to talk about the new kid. I was just going to ask how it went with my mother.”
“Your mother?”
“Dinner?”
“Oh right. Good. It went really well in fact.” He smiled.
“That’s good.”
“I hope this isn’t weird for you.”
“It wasn’t weird when you always said you would take her from my father, it’s still not weird. Bonus of having such a shit father I guess.”
“I’m glad you’re okay with it. We talked and said if you had a problem with it, we would end it.”
“Oh god, don’t do that. My mum was really happy yesterday. It’s a nice change.”
“Good.” He leant back in his chair blowing out a long breath. “So, how’s it going with the article?”
“Good, I think. Do you know where Timmy is?”
“No, he hasn’t come in today. He didn’t ring in either which is out of character.”
“Right. I’ll stop off at his apartment then. See if he’s okay.”
“If you do see him tell him he better be very ill or dead. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.” We shook hands and I left his little office. On my way out Felicity got a nice smile and the receptionist got an awkward one. She was looking weird. I didn’t know if she was trying to look sexy but it didn’t come across like that.
I caught the usual transport a little out of the city centre, towards the cheaper section of apartments. It wasn’t the roughest section of the city but it wasn’t the most luxurious. It only looked a little worse than my neighbourhood.
Still, the sun was shining and during the day this place wasn’t that bad. I jumped off just up the road from Timmy’s apartment, brought a hot dog from a cart at the curb and made my way up to his building.
I wiped some ketchup from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. With that same hand I hit the buzzer for my friend’s apartment. Half of the foot long vanished before I got fed up of the long silence. I backed up a little and stared up at the windows. I never knew why he picked this kind of place. With his father fronting the bill for rent he could have lived in the very centre.
I figured he wasn’t home but something felt wrong. He always phoned to let Harvey know if was running late or not coming in at all. He wasn’t one to just disappear.
My finger went back up to the buzzers and I hit a random few. Finally there was a reply in the form of an old woman’s voice. “Hello?”
I wasn’t brilliant at convincing people but this was to do with my friend. I knew the kind of people he was gambling with. “Hi, my name is Gregory and I’m here to take a review on your maintenance team.”
“Oh really. Why would I want to bother wasting my time with that?”
“I know surveys are never fun to fill in but you will be put into a draw to win a luxurious holiday. Plus, no matter the results of the survey, your building will be entered into a program to create better living environments for this city’s tenants.”
There was a long pause before there came a buzz from the intercom. “Please come up young man.”
I smiled at my accomplishment. I opened the door and walked into the cramped lobby., It smelt like a tramp had been using it as a toilet. Thanks to the elevator being broken I had to take the stairs. Coming up to the floor where Timmy lived I finished off my hot dog and chucked the napkin down the trash chute.
My pace slowed as I came to the door. It was ajar, the metal chain that was supposed to keep people out was sitting on the floor. I cautiously moved closer, peering through the small gap. I couldn’t see or hear anyone.
My foot softly pressed against the bottom of the door, opening it slowly. I saw the mess of the living room. The television had been pushed over and smashed. The sofa was ripped apart, foam lying all over the floor. His fancy stereo was lying on the floor.
My heart was pounding so fast. My breathing quickened the further I got into the apartment. My eyes moved to the right, seeing that the kitchen was in the same state. The door to the large oven was pulled off. All the cupboards and drawers were open, their contents scattered across the floor.
I moved silently through the room until I came to the bedroom. In the corner sat his computer. It was the most expensive thing in this place but it looked like it hadn’t been touched.
That was until I ventured over to it. The tower sitting on the desk had been pulled apart.
The side was lying on the floor. Drives had been pulled out and wires were snapped. They were clearly looking for something and it could be the flash drive I gave him.
My body fell back in shock, sitting on the edge of the bed. My head dropped into my hands and I cursed myself for getting him involved in all this. Things were going wrong and it had something to do with this article. It must be bigger than we thought.
It couldn’t just be about a crooked, billionaire businessman. There had to be something going on. All this action was too extreme. The photos of Felicity. This apartment being ruined the day after I give him the memory stick.
I cursed myself again and punch the bed. Then my ears picked up a noise. It wasn’t the door and it wasn’t someone riffling through Timmy’s belongings. It was a whisper and it was coming from behind me.
My head slowly turned, expecting to see a man standing there ready to question and torture me. Instead there was nothing but a door. It must lead into the bathroom. The whisper came again. It sounded so weak.
Standing up from the bed I made my way to the door, hoping to god it wasn’t a trap. I hoped the people who had created this mess was long gone. My hand moved out and gently pushed the bathroom door open. It slid slowly, revealing the bathroom. Blood was sprayed up the white tiles and walls.
I gasped when I saw what laid in the bath. My friend, his clothes covered in blood. His face barely recognisable. My feet carried me inside the small room bringing me closer to the dark red blood.
When I got a better view I saw the shard of glass sticking out of his stomach. My feet crunched on the rest of the broken mirror as it lied on the floor. I bent down, swallowing back the urge to lose my stomach contents.
I placed my hand on top of his as it sat on the edge of the bath. “What did they do?” I whispered it to myself as he laid there not moving, not breathing. Until he sucked in a sudden gasp of air. I fell back in shock, cutting my hand on the glass.
As I scrambled back to the tub I cursed the pain in my hand. “What are you doing here?” His voice was so weak I could barely hear it.
“I came to see if you were okay.” My eyes looked over all his injuries. “What happened to you?”
“Men came in. Beat the living shit out of me.” He coughed sending spurts of blood onto his t-shirt. “They were looking for the flash drive. Where did you get it from?”
“I took the files from Henrikson’s personal computer.”
“What?” He coughed again, the blood dribbling down his chin.
“You should try and stay still. Don’t talk. It’s making you worse.”
“Worse? I don’t think I can get any worse. At this point death would feel like a sweet release.”
“Don’t say that.”
He coughed but no blood came out this time. Maybe he didn’t have much left. “You got me into this mess. It’s your fault they came after me for that stupid flash drive.”
“I didn’t know this was going to happen.”
“You should have used your head. You should have told me.” The angrier and the louder he got the more he coughed until he stopped talking.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. How could I know they would figure I gave it to you? How could they possibly know?”
“They were clearly keeping an eye out in the dark underworld of the city where my friends live.”
I stood up from the bath, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my palm to stop the bleeding. “Maybe you should have been more careful.”
“Me?” I could hear the anger but his face didn’t change. He was in too much pain. “Who knows who else will die because of that stick.”
“Stop talking like that. It’s not like I set you up.” I looked down at him. His eyes stared up at me with so much judgement. “Where is it? Did you give it to them?”
He laughed but it was gurgled with blood. “You should forget about it. Take your life whilst you still have it and run.”
“I can’t do that. You’re not the only one who has gotten into trouble.”
“What else have you done?” Those judgemental eyes were looking at me making me squirm.
“It’s not me this time. Felicity is in something bad. If I have that flash drive maybe I can sort it out.”
“You can’t even sort your life out. What makes you think you can help someone else?”
I thought our friendship meant something but hearing all these accusations made me double guess it. My eyes looked down at him, watching slowly slip into death. Then again, this was a rare situation. I couldn’t judge him based on what he was saying right now. “Where is it?”
He stared but then his emotionless look broke and he sighed uncomfortably. “It’s in a bag inside the back of the toilet.”
I moved over to it, using my good hand to remove the top. Inside was a sandwich back with the flash drive inside wrapped in bubble wrap. I pulled it out of the water and placed it in the sink.
It took some pain but I managed to get the drive out. I looked at it, thinking how amazing something so small could cause so much damage. Afterwards I looked down at my friend. His judgemental eyes still stared but there was nothing behind them, no life.
My hand shook as I moved it through the space between us. Fingertips touched the skin on his neck. There was no pulsing sign of life. I looked at his eyes again. The lifeless stare still managed to hold judgement.
So I closed them with my fingers. I wiped everything I had touched and left the apartment. Still hearing his words bouncing around inside my head. They made tears form in my eyes. I wiped them away as I stepped off the bottom step. No one paid me any attention as I walked out onto the pathway.
Once I was far enough away I called the police. I left an anonymous tip about a commotion in my friends building. They’ll find his body and hopefully catch the people that killed him. It was a long shot but at least it was better than leaving him there to rot.
The first internet café I came across I entered. I sat down at a computer in the corner after grabbing a bottle of water. My hand gripped the monitor and turned it. Hiding what I was up from the rest of the room. Then I plugged the flash drive into the tower.
As it was loaded up my mind wandered back to Timmy’s bathroom. The image of him lying in the bathtub stayed there. The blood all over the wall stood out against the white tiles.
A soft ping came as the computer started looking into the flash drive. The encryption screen came up again stopping me from progressing any further. I almost swore at the computer before I remembered I was in public. Instead I opened the bottle and took a few gulps.
When I looked back down at the screen there was a small box with some kind of program running. Then the screen went black and a split second later, green words flashed up saying I had access.
My finger tapped enter and a large box appeared. It wasn’t a list of files or anything like that. Instead the screen was filled with lines. Blue balls moved everywhere, following these lines like tracks.
That’s when another box opened. Telling me that the computer wasn’t linked to a secure line. Then the screen shut down. Pushing the power button didn’t do anything. I looked down at the tower by my leg. That had turned off as well. Had the flash drive done this? Just because the computer wasn’t linked to a secure internet?
I pulled the little stick out and left with my water hoping that the computer wasn’t damaged. I decided to walk, leaving the trams to roll past me. My feet tapped on the concrete as I thought about things. My hand wrapped around the flash drive in my pocket. Part of me wanted to chuck it in a bin as I walked but the other half wanted to know what was so special about it.
I needed to find a computer with a secure line and the only one I knew about was the one sitting in Henrikson’s office. That wasn’t an option. So I needed to find a computer at a similar position as that. Maybe in a different office building.
Harvey’s computer came to mind but I didn’t want to get him into trouble. Enough people I cared about had gotten hu
rt. Then my mind went to a similar place. Why not a computer at a different paper? They weren’t the most secure buildings and ever since working in a few mailrooms, I knew my way around some of them intimately.
Then the perfect paper popped into my head. I had worked there for just under a year. My boss never liked me and his boss hated me even more. If this flash drive was having people following it around then why not let them go to a person I hate. They knew nothing about me now. Not even where I currently work.
Since I was too far from the paper’s building I decided to grab a tram when one came past. It cut the journey time in half and gave me a chance to just sit and think about my plan. It didn’t go so well and the only part of it I had by the time I got there was trying to get a meeting with the editor or the owner. It wasn’t a very good plan. But I had to get inside. They would have secure computers and then I could get this information.
I arrived and I climbed off, looking up at the building. It seemed larger than I remembered. It was a much larger building then the one I now worked in but they didn’t even have any security.
I walked in and the memories of my days here came flooding back. The lobby was still so huge with fancy paintings on the wall and covers of the most popular newspaper issues.
The building was rented out by two businesses. The paper and a company that prints books. They even shared a mailing room. The thought gave me an idea of how to get into the offices upstairs. I would just have to be careful. Bumping into my old boss would ruin this plan and no doubt get me chucked out of the building.
So I made my way down to the mail room, using the stairs since they came out in a corner of the mail room. It kept me away from the office that sat next to the elevator. That’s where my old boss would be.
When I got down there I hid and looked around. It hadn’t change in the years since I left. Then I spotted someone I used to know. You could say we were friends but we never kept in touch. I walked around a little, keeping out of the way and I didn’t chat with anyone. Trying to blend in.
After a minute I stumbled across the little lockers that sat against a wall. Then I remembered my old friend would always have a spare shirt with him. I found the right one and quickly swapped tops.