Chris had his ear against the locker room door and wanted to wait a bit longer before heading out, but Frank didn’t have the patience and pushed the door open throwing Chris off balance.
“I know where Alex likes to hide,” said Frank, and went for the exit of the Fun Room without looking back at Chris.
Chris caught up to Frank and quickly whispered, “Let me talk to him. You’ll intimidate him and he’ll shut down.”
“Or he’ll give us what we want,” said Frank. His eyes stared ahead.
Chris left it. He had put Frank on the path of a mission and little would stand in the way of the wrecking ball mentality Frank brought. Chris would intervene when more finesse was needed but he couldn’t help but smile in appreciation as his friend bought in to the plan.
They moved swiftly through the main lab and to a door in the farthest corner that had no windows for curious eyes to interrupt the work going on inside. Chris jumped in front of Frank to knock on the door. Frank glared at Chris for potentially getting in the way. Chris raised his eyebrows in reply and Frank grabbed the door handle to rush inside, but it was locked.
“What the hell?” said Frank. “This has to be the only door with a lock besides Erik’s. Why would he lock it?”
Chris raised his eyebrows again in response and waited for an answer to his original knocking. It took an uncomfortably long time with Frank shuffling his feet as if getting ready to ram through the flimsy wood door that stood in the way of his goal before Alex finally responded.
“Who is it?” asked Alex through the door.
Before Frank could answer, “It’s Chris. And Frank.”
“What do you want?”
“Let us in and we’ll tell you,” said Frank, still ready to pound the door down.
Chris needed to hurry, he envisioned Alex putting up desks and cabinets to barricade the door. “We need to see the videos to expose Erik and the labs as a hoax.”
The door unlocked and opened just enough for Alex to poke out his head. He eyed them suspiciously and then glanced around to see if anyone else might be hiding behind them or nearby. “Okay, come in.”
Chris and Frank stepped inside. Alex shut the door behind them and locked it again. The room was dark. A small lamp on a desk and the light from the computer monitor were the only sources to see anything by. It was also exceptionally cold compared to the rest of the lab or any other room Chris remembered being in.
“Shit it’s cold in here,” said Frank stating the obvious.
“Not really,” said Alex. He moved himself around the pair careful not to make any contact and sat at the computer. Without another word he clicked on folders, opened files, and dragged others around the desktop: a picture of a full moon with dark shadows around the edges.
“We need those videos,” said Frank.
“I heard you the first time,” said Alex, still working diligently but without any explanation.
“We’re going to quit and use this as an escape so Erik can’t crucify us or our families. We need the evidence of the unedited videos,” said Chris.
“Yeah,” said Alex.
The next file he double clicked played a video. The camera showed a man standing on a rooftop with a harness attached to his chest that he fiddled with for a good minute. Once he was satisfied it fit correctly he pulled two thin ropes from the ground with clips on the ends that he attached to fittings on the harness. He spent less time double checking these but was still cautious. Then the camera panned to show a crew of people standing on the roof adjacent. A set of cushioned pads were laid out in front of the group and just behind them was a ten foot steel lattice column with a mechanical pulley system on top.
The camera zoomed out to bring both rooftops and its inhabitants in view. The man gave a thumbs up and the pulley above the column started. He held the ropes attached to his chest as the slack was eaten up by the pulley. A member of the other rooftop crew stopped the pulley once it was tight enough to force the man a step forward. He then shuffled toward the edge of the rooftop where the sidewalk and hundreds of people could witness his act. The hand of the crew member that stopped the pulley raised high in the air as a signal. The man nodded his head and as soon as the hand dropped he sprinted following the skinny line of rope. At the last possible moment like a trained long jumper, he lifted into the open space between the buildings. The pulley did its job and turned an impossible athletic feat into a superhuman one.
The video finished with most of the crew silently cheering on as two of them rushed to pull the harness off the man so he could make his awaited appearance at the ledge without any evidence to destroy the fantasy.
“The guys in New York sent that to me. They said the practice runs didn’t look nearly as good as the final here,” said Alex. He then leaned back in his chair waiting for a response.
“We’re in a hurry,” said Chris. He handed over his USB drive. “Do you have any others? That’s great but we’re gonna need more.”
Alex laughed to himself and bit his fingernail as he moved his eyes around the room and played with the USB drive. “Okay. Is this good?” He opened another file to show another video.
Chris and Frank ogled over the screen while Alex watched their faces. This video was split in two with the left hand showing again what they just watched while the right side showed the action from an angle on the street, the same angle that made its rounds on YouTube. Once it was over another split screen of raw footage versus the finished publicly consumed product played. This style continued on through dozens of videos of the Supers.
Chris pulled his eyes away to look back at Alex who was still waiting patiently for their reaction shots. Alex smiled and laughed to himself again at what Chris knew was the look of his jaw dropped in astonishment.
“Why’d you make this?” asked Chris.
“Holy shit, yeah,” said Frank, still watching the video run through.
“Art helped me. He thought it would be a good bit of insurance so we could get out when the time was right,” said Alex. “I never thought you would start it.”
“Tell me about it,” said Frank.
Chris punched Frank in the shoulder and then went to grab the USB drive back from Alex. Alex’s face turned more pale than usual and cupped his hands together to keep Chris from his goal before saying, “I know we should do this, but how do I know for sure you’re going to make it work?”
“I don’t really know if this’ll work, but I’m going to do it,” said Chris. “Your name and everyone else’s here are in the report I made. It’s all going together. It’s the best protection I can think of.” Alex kept his hands tight together. “Plus you have a lock on your door. Stay here until it’s safe or you think Erik’s gone after us.”
“Piss on Erik, Alex. And fuck the government,” said Frank.
Alex smiled again and handed over the USB drive. Chris jammed it into an open slot on the computer and immediately dragged the file onto the removable disk. They all stayed silent while a task bar displayed the remaining percentage being copied. Once it was done, Chris grabbed the drive to pull it out.
“Stop!” said Alex. “Safely remove it or you’ll chance corrupting the file.”
Frank backhanded the top of Chris’s head, “Duh, Tech Support.”
Chris safely removed the drive and jumped for the door, “Thanks, Alex. Tell Art thanks too.”
Alex looked at the floor but raised his hand in acknowledgment. Chris stopped at the door wanting to say something more, but with Frank bumping into his back he knew it was best to leave now. No one was in the main lab and they made their way quickly down the length whilst consciously maintaining an innocent air about them. Moving past the glass doors of the Fun Room, Chris spotted Johnykin. He stopped and saw her talking to someone. She had the Super suits over her shoulder. Chris assumed she was talking to Walt, but when he hurried over and stepped inside Johnykin turned to reveal a tear stained Carmen.
Chris walked up to them, “Hey, Carmen. Johnykin
we gotta go.” He grabbed Johnykin’s arm to emphasize the urgency to leave. “We don’t need the suits now. We have something better. Come on.”
Johnykin didn’t budge, “I left Erik with Carmen and he interrogated her to get information about what the hell you two are doing. He hit her.”
Chris looked at Carmen again. There were more than just tear stains. She moved her hair to try to hide the red marks that were beginning to swell across her eyes and cheeks.
“I’m so sorry. Come with us. We have one more stop and then we’re out of here,” said Chris.
“Where?” asked Johnykin. Chris saw her doubting him.
“We have to use Erik’s computer. He blocked any kind of access to the internet for me and I bet he’s extended it to everyone else in here except his computer,” said Chris.
“Why are you uploading it now? This was supposed to be insurance, a threat,” said Frank.
“Look at Carmen. The threat of it doesn’t mean anything now. I would have done this at Alex’s computer but he would’ve freaked. Plus his internet was cut off too.”
“How’d you know that?” asked Johnykin.
“That was my job before this.”
“Let’s go then,” said Frank. He walked away after giving Carmen a long look.
Chris gave a similar look to Johnykin. The two women consented and followed. Chris caught up to walk in stride with Frank.
“Just kick in Erik’s door. We don’t need to waste any more time and it won’t take him too long to track us down,” said Chris.
“Gladly,” said Frank and walked faster.
They made it to Erik’s office without any more run-ins. Frank didn’t hesitate and brought his foot square against the wood above the handle with every ounce of power he could muster. The sound of splintering wood echoed behind them as the group moved inside immediately. Chris jumped into the canvas chair and flipped open the laptop.
“Shit,” said Chris.
Frank pushed him out of the chair already aware of the problem and began hacking through the password protection. Johnykin and Carmen grew nervous, but Johnykin covered it up by standing by the open, broken door as a lookout. Chris stayed over Frank’s shoulder watching every step so as to jump in as soon as possible.
Within a second of each other, Johnykin yelled ‘he’s coming’ and Frank slammed the enter key to gain access. Chris knocked Frank out of the chair and jammed the USB drive in the side of the laptop. He double clicked the internet icon as Frank ran to the door to see for himself how far Erik was from barging in on their plan. The homepage loaded and Chris typed into the web address bar reddit.com.
Then Chris saw out of the corner of his eye Frank and Johnykin shut and back away from the door. They were stuck. Chris hadn’t told them what to do if Erik actually found them let alone confronted them in his office. He snapped the laptop closed and yanked the USB out and back into his pocket as he stood up to be with the group.
The door swung open violently from a kick by Erik landing much shorter than the one Frank gave earlier, yet energy crackled from Erik’s minuscule stature. His eyes surveyed the room and his chest heaved up and down more dramatically than was necessary. The strangest part was his face that slipped back and forth from glee to fury in each one of his overtly deep breaths.
“Woo!” said Erik. The noise spread out through the small office just as ambiguous as the emotions flashing on his face. Everyone froze, waiting for the next move. Chris took a step towards Erik and the door. Erik pointed at Chris’s chest in response. It stopped Chris and he saw Erik shift away from heavy breathing to focus a stare deep into Chris’s eyes. Chris’s brain leaped ahead of the ploy and kept his eyes lax but set. Erik couldn’t last and moved on to an easier target; Carmen.
Her face still glowed red in spots and in others the blue bruises formed. Erik stared her down for less than two seconds before new tears sprang loose. He laughed.
Then Johnykin launched a fist into the side of Erik’s head. The blow knocked him to his knees and the force of her swing put her on top of him to land another hit directly on his nose. Blood fell from his twisted nostrils and then leaked from the ear that took the brunt of the first hit. Chris picked up Johnykin before she could hit him again and pushed her through the door. Frank did the same to Carmen in tow.
They heard a roar as all four sprinted for the double glass doors leading into the main area, then an even louder call for ‘Security’ rang out. Chris chanced a look back and Erik was already in pursuit, mopping the blood from his mouth like a predator ready to chase down the second bite.
The anonymous personnel filling in the desks of the main work area swiveled to see the action but didn't dare take part in it. As the group raced by, papers flew up behind them and Chris thought about the security Erik had yelled for. When would they pop out to block the way? Who was the security? But it didn't matter now. They were only a few feet from the main door and an exit. Chris took another backwards glance to see Erik's position. He wasn't far. Those little legs of his were nimble.
Frank shouldered through the glass doors so jarringly that the left side shattered when it hit its full extension. The noise made Carmen and Johnykin jump in shock for a split second, which forced Chris to run into their backs. The three stumbled onto the pavement. Chris got to his feet first and grabbed underneath each woman’s arm to assist. In that small moment, Frank rushed ahead to retrieve his truck. Carmen took the longest to get her feet under her and Johnykin wouldn't move forward without her. For a moment Chris thought he could carry her, but then another explosion of glass from behind destroyed that course of action. All three turned to see Erik. From inside the main lobby, he walked with a gun pointed directly at them.
They were frozen until the screeching of tires braking turned them around again. Frank had the truck thought Chris, but it was the black SUV instead. Out darted the driver with a gun too.
“Woo!” said Erik. The same glee/fury radiated from his face. “That was close and kind of fun. I can see why you liked pretending to be —“
Another screech of tires emerged with Frank twisting his truck around the SUV. Chris didn’t know how much was intentional, but the truck went into a sideways skid and clipped the driver’s leg. It sent the driver flailing on to his back with his gun skipping across the sidewalk. He howled in pain and grabbed an ugly twisted ankle, but Frank’s truck didn’t stop there. It continued to slide towards Erik. Erik jumped back into the main entrance and avoided being crushed as the truck slammed against the door frames.
Frank jumped from the driver’s seat and ran straight for the SUV. Chris, Carmen, and Johnykin followed him to their new escape route. A gunshot rang out and shattered the window of the passenger side of Frank’s truck. Chris opened the door to the SUV, then turned to see Erik crawl across the front seat of the truck to continue his pursuit.
“The keys!” said Frank, before Chris made it inside.
Without thinking, Chris dashed over to the driver on the ground still writhing in pain. The driver reached up and grabbed Chris’s shirt as Chris rummaged through the man’s pockets. Chris wasn’t getting anywhere and yet another shot rang out from Erik’s gun that whizzed by Chris’s head. He punched the driver, knocking him out and found the keys underneath his hip.
Erik was now out of the truck and took aim again. Carmen appeared out of nowhere to Chris’s side with the gun dropped by the driver. She didn’t look like she knew what she was doing, but when she pulled the trigger Erik spun off balance and grabbed his shoulder. Carmen froze over the result; Chris grabbed her shoulder to pull her back to the SUV. He let her go to toss the keys to Frank and hop inside when one more time they heard a gunshot. Carmen fell to the ground before reaching the back seat. Johnykin screamed as she leaned over to try to catch Carmen. Chris looked down to see the blood pooling onto the concrete from the back of Carmen’s head.
“Go!” said Chris, and Frank hit the gas.
Erik fired a few more rounds but did them and the SUV
no damage as Frank drove out of the parking lot. Chris buckled his seatbelt slowly before turning back to check on Johnykin. He knew she wasn’t hurt but checked anyways. He saw the too familiar gaze out the window accompanied by lines of tears.
“She was dead, wasn’t she?” asked Frank. He would never forgive Chris if he gave him a different answer.
“Yeah,” said Chris.
“Shit. Where… what are we doing next?” said Frank. He put them on the 580 back towards home.
“X-Tech headquarters,” said Chris. Frank gave him a confused look, but Chris ignored it and looked straight ahead forming in his head the next phase of their plan.
The time to think didn’t last long. In the rear view mirror Frank caught sight of another black SUV racing up the hills of the Altamont to get to them.
“Fucker’s fast,” said Frank with his eyes still on the mirror. Chris and Johnykin followed his line of sight out the back window of the SUV. It wasn’t just one now. Another was right behind zig-zagging around traffic to keep up. Frank accelerated.
“Shit,” said Johnykin. “How are we going to lose them? Erik has these things bugged.” She spread her arms out to mean the vehicle.
Chris didn’t say a word and opened the glove box first. He moved his hand quickly across every corner before finding nothing and moving on. Johnykin unbuckled her seat belt and hit the floor. She groped across the carpet and into the steel undercarriage of the seats but with little success.
“Maybe I'm wrong,” said Johnykin. Chris got out of his seat not ready to give up on the idea yet.
The world swung violently. Frank was over the ninety mile per hour mark and every small adjustment at the wheel was magnified. Chris hit the floor too. He felt something crack next to his thigh just underneath the hip.
“Oh no,” said Chris. He didn't want to believe what it was.
Just Another Job Page 22