by A.L. Svartz
***
A familiar chubby man entered through the front of the building. Casually, he made his way up to the front desk. The lady at the front desk was typing something into the computer while she popped her gum. "Can I help you?" She said, not looking up at who it was.
"Yes, I was wondering if Mr. Malmsteen was in his office?" The man asked.
"I believe I saw him come in this morning," the woman said. "Do you need him for something?"
"Yes, I have a message I need to deliver to him," the man said.
"Let me see if he's taking calls," the woman said, still not looking up at who it was. She picked up the corded phone next to her computer, pressing one of the buttons, then putting the phone up to her ear. "Hey Carole. I have a man here that needs to deliver a message to Mr. Malmsteen." A long pause came. "Ok." The lady hung up the phone. "I'm sorry sir, Mr. Malmsteen is not taking calls today. You can leave your message here with me or... Johnson?" The lady looked up from her desk. He appeared to be wearing the same clothes that he had on yesterday. "You don't work here anymore. What are you doing here?"
"No, I don't," Johnson said. "But I urgently need to see him."
"Well, you can leave your message here with me and I'll deliver it to him when I get the chance," the woman said.
Johnson suddenly pulled something out from his pocket. Swinging the object around the desk, he pointed it at the woman. "It's more like a package," Johnson said, his finger resting on the trigger of the gun.
"Oh my!" The woman yelled. From underneath her desk, she pressed a red button that would alert security.
"Now, you're going to let me see that dick of a boss of mine, or else," Johnson said. His face turned red.
As he was thinking about firing the gun at the woman, the same security guard that threw him out yesterday came running after Johnson from the side. He caught the security guard from the corner of his eye. Johnson turned, now pointing the gun at the security guard. As nervous as he was, Johnson fired a single bullet at the security guard, striking him on the right shoulder. The sound of the gun popping echoed throughout the lobby.
"Ahh!" The security guard said, falling back on the ground. Blood was draining out from his shoulder. He placed his hand over his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
"Ahh!" The woman behind the desk screamed. She stood up from her chair and backed away from Johnson. "You shot him! Help! Help!" Everyone that was in the lobby ran away in terror.
Johnson turned back to the woman, pointing his gun back at her. "Shut up!" He demanded. "Now, Malmsteen, where is he?"
"Uh, Carole told me he was in his office," the woman said. She placed her hand over her mouth. On the verge of bursting out into tears, she then used both her hands to cover her face. She moved out some of her black hair that got caught in her hands.
Johnson raced over to the elevator, press the button to open the door. As the doors opened, Johnson headed inside. Pressing the button to go to Mr. Malmsteen's office, he waited until the elevator doors closed.
As soon as she made sure that Johnson was out of sight, the woman quickly picked up the phone. She pressed the same button as she did before. "Carole! Carol listen. Johnson is heading up to your floor. Yes, yes, I know he got fired, just listen. He's got a gun. He's heading to Mr. Malmsteen's office. You need to get security to the front of the elevator as quickly as you can." She slammed down the phone.
Johnson pointed his silver pistol in front of the elevator doors, shooting at the first person that comes into view. The elevator dinged. Johnson was very nervous about the situation he had gotten himself into. The doors slowly opened up. The office floor was full of people. As soon as one person spotted the gun in Johnson's hand, he yelled, starting a chain reaction of people to scatter. Johnson stepped out of the elevator, firing a few bullets into the ceiling. People continued to run around, avoiding going into the direction that Johnson was at.
"I'm here for Malmsteen," he said. The yelling cut out what he had said.
As the floor started to clear, he made his way towards Mr. Malmsteen's office.
"Stand up," Johnson said to Carole.
She tried hiding behind her desk, but the gun pointing at her made her think otherwise. Carole did as Johnson told her. He went behind her desk, grabbing her forcefully. He wrapped his arm around her throat, and put the barrel of the gun to her head. Walking back around the desk, he brought Carole into Mr. Malmsteen's office. He quickly opened the door and slammed it shut.
Mr. Malmsteen seemed to have awakened from his morning nap and was sitting comfortable at his desk across the room. "Johnson?" Mr. Malmsteen said. He stood up from his desk. "What the hell are you doing here? What's going on?"
"Listen Malmsteen," Johnson said.
"How about no, you listen," Mr. Malmsteen said, walking in front of his desk. "I fired your ass. And you think trying to kill me will get your job back, because it won't. This will end in two ways. Either you get taken out in a cop car or a body bag." Mr. Malmsteen crossed his arms.
"There's a third way," Johnson said, pressing the gun harder into the side of Carole's head. "I get my job back, and everybody forgets that this day happened."
Mr. Malmsteen stood there in silence. He grew a big smirk on his face. "That's not going to happen."
"I'm not joking Malmsteen!" Johnson yelled. "I'll blow her brains out! I mean it!"
"Then do it," Mr. Malmsteen said. "You said you'll do it, so do it. I'm waiting." Carole's eyes widened as she heard what her boss had said.
"I will!" Johnson yelled. He looked at Carole then back at Mr. Malmsteen.
"Then do so," Mr. Malmsteen snapped back. He looked into Johnson's eyes. He could see how scared he was.
Johnson didn't know what to do. He looked at Carole, then looked back at his former boss. Both were waiting for him to make a move. The silence was broken by the sound of a gunshot. Carole closed her eyes as she thought the bullet would be lodged into her head. She waited for the pain to come, but there wasn't any. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see a puddle of blood. The grip that Johnson had on her was suddenly lost. She busted out from his arms and ran over to Mr. Malmsteen.
Both Carole and Mr. Malmsteen watched as Johnson fell to the floor. As he fell, it was revealed that a security guard was behind him, with a gun in his hand.
"Are you alright sir," the dark man said. He went over to comfort the two.
"Yes, yes," Mr. Malmsteen said. "Just get him out of here and clean up this mess."
"Is he dead?" Carole said, observing the body.
"Not sure," the security guard said. "I tried to land a non-fatal shot." The security guard grabbed his walkie. "Suspect down, I repeat, suspect down. I need medical personnel to the top floor of the building." He put his walkie away. "Come on you two. I need everybody out of the building. We still need to make sure that there's no other gunmen here. Grab whatever you need and follow me please."
Mr. Malmsteen went over and grabbed his suitcase while Carole ran out of the room and over to her desk, grabbing her purse and jacket. They both followed the security guard out the building.
The security guard safely guided the two out the building. They were now in front of the building main entrance. Everyone who worked in the building was gathered outside.
A single police officer ran up to the two, who were still very close to the building. "Excuse me, you two need to get behind the police line," the officer said. They both followed him until they were behind the police line.
"Hey, glad you're still alive," Mr. Eisen said as he approached Mr. Malmsteen. "Man, what a day. You alright though?"
"Yeah, yeah," Mr. Malmsteen said as if the situation that just happened wasn't that bad. He looked around the crowed area, looking at all of his employees.
"So, where is he?" Mr. Eisen asked. "Do you know what happened to him?"
"They shot him and that was the end of that," Mr. Malmsteen said. As the two were talking,
Carole went up and punched Mr. Malmsteen in the shoulder. "Ah. What the hell was that for?"
"For letting that lunatic Johnson almost kill me!" She yelled. "I thought we had something going on together, but I guess I was wrong. You weren't even going to help me! And for that, I quit." Carole stormed off. Mr. Malmsteen watched her until she disappeared into the crowd of workers.
"This whole day has just been crazy," Mr. Malmsteen said. "First my neighbor dies, which for me isn't bad, and now all this shit that's going on. And now, I need to hire a replacement for Carole."
"Eh, it'll be alright," Mr. Eisen said. He gave a little pat on the back to his friend. "Hey, why don't we grab lunch. Doesn't look like we'll be getting back into the office anytime soon today."
"Alright," Mr. Malmsteen agreed. He rubbed his stomach as he was getting hungry.
"I know this place a few block down that's decent," Mr. Eisen said. "I walked by it like a month ago and that I'd give it a try. I'll call my driver." Mr. Eisen pulled out his phone, but Mr. Malmsteen quickly put his hand on his shoulder.
"I'd rather walk," Mr. Malmsteen said. He took his hand off of Mr. Eisen's shoulder. "I need some fresh air." Mr. Eisen placed his phone back in his pocket.
The two walked away from all the commotion. News copters were circling around the building and reporters with their crew were already on the scene.
Both walked down through the crowded streets of New York. They both bumped into a few people who uttered unkind words to them. The flurries that were in the air last night had vanished. Just the cold air stuck around.
"Here we are," Mr, Eisen said, standing in front of the restaurant.
"What the hell kinda place is this?" Mr. Malmsteen said, backing up so he could see the sign. "Chester's? This place looks like it's a homeless shelter. I'm not eating in there."
Mr. Eisen walked up next to Mr. Malmsteen. "Look, I know it's not your typical fancy restaurant, but I tried it out, and it ain't half bad," Mr. Eisen said. "Come on. If you try you'll like it."
Mr. Malmsteen decided to try it out and proceeded to go inside with Mr. Eisen. As they went inside, there was a dirty wooden bar in the center of the restaurant. All around were wooden tables and chairs that looked filthy. Flat screen televisions were hung all around the restaurant, with one big one up by the bar. Most of the restaurant was empty, with a couple of hefty men sitting at the bar.
"Come on, let's grab a seat," Mr. Eisen said. Mr. Malmsteen followed him until they found a seat near one of the flat screens. The news was on, reporting on the incident that the two CEOs were just in. A blonde reporter with a black winter jacket on was reporting the story.
"I'm live in front of the Lamin Corp building where a frightful scene has just ended. Fifty four year old Rob Johnson was recently let go from the company. About noon today, Mr. Johnson entered the building with a loaded weapon, firing the weapon at one security guard, and threatening the life of one of the CEOs. The security guard is in stable condition and is expected to be alright. I'm getting reports that the stock for Lamin Corp is tumbling. It's expected to be another loss for the company as this incident wraps up."
"You seeing this!" Mr. Malmsteen yelled, standing up from his seat. "This asshole just cost the company thousands. What a joke." Mr. Malmsteen sat back down, rubbing his head.
"May I take your order?" The waitress said, chewing her gum with her mouth wide open. She pulled the pen out from behind her ear. Placing the pen on the notepad in her hand, she was ready to write down the orders.
Mr. Eisen explored the menu before he ordered. "I'll just take a coffee. Black."
The waitress quickly wrote that down. "What about him?" She asked, pointing at Mr. Malmsteen with her pen. He didn't even take a look at the menu.
"He'll have the same thing," Mr. Eisen said.
The waitress wrote that order down as well. "I'll be right back." She then headed back towards the kitchen to fetch their drinks.
"Look, you need to just relax," Mr. Eisen said. "With the large order coming next week, and the new products coming, our stock will climb higher than ever. Just let it go for right now."
"I guess you're right," Mr. Malmsteen said. He lowered his hands. "I just don't know how to relax."
The waitress was making her way back over to the two. "Here you go fellas," she said, placing two mugs on the table. "If you need anything else, just holler." She then walked over to another table that needed assistance.
"What did you order me anyway?" Mr. Malmsteen asked, grabbing the handle of the mug and pulling it towards him. He inhaled the scent that it was giving off. "Coffee?"
"The lady asked you what you wanted and you didn't say anything, so I ordered for you," Mr. Eisen said. He grabbed the mug and took a sip. "Ah, nothing like a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter afternoon." He set the mug back down on the table. "So, about dinner tonight. You still coming?"
"Yeah, yeah," Mr. Malmsteen said. "I'll be there." He took a sip of the coffee but quickly placed the mug back down on the table. "Ouch! Too hot."
"Want anything else?" Mr. Eisen asked. "You have to try the food."
Mr. Malmsteen picked up the menu, overlooking it. "What's the best thing here?" He wiped off the grease smudges that were left by the previous customers.
"They've told me grilled cheese is by far the best thing on the menu here," Mr. Eisen said. "I'll probably get one of those. I've only had a burger here and it wasn't that bad."
"Order two of them and let's hurry," Mr. Malmsteen said. "This day has taken a lot out of me. And I just need to rest."
Mr. Eisen waved his arm around until he got the attention of the waitress. "Yes, can we get two grilled cheeses?"
Quickly writing it down on her notepad she said, "ok, they'll be right out." They both watched her walk back into the kitchen.
As quickly as she went back to deliver the order, she came back out with the two delicious sandwiches. "Thank you," Mr. Eisen said. He grabbed his sandwich, taking a large bite out of it. "Mmmm. Take a bite."
Mr. Malmsteen reached over and grabbed his sandwich. He inspected it, the cheese oozing out the sides. Taking a bite from the sandwich, Mr. Malmsteen instantly fell in love with it. Without letting Mr. Eisen know, he continued to eat the sandwich, finishing before his friend finished his.
"Hey, I'm gonna check to see if the building is clear and how everything is going over there," Mr. Eisen said. He got up from his seat. "Make sure to be at the house by eight."
"I got it," Mr. Malmsteen said. Mr. Eisen walked off, leaving Mr. Malmsteen stuck with the bill, and the beloved grilled cheese.
Mr. Eisen jogged down to his building, noticing that the scene had really changed. He saw cops entering the building in small groups. Watching from afar, he didn't want the media to notice him and attack him with questions.
A lot of his workers were still standing outside while a few started to walk off. He frowned and wanted to go over to each one of them and fire them for leaving, but under the circumstances that were going on, he decided to let it go. Mr. Eisen knew that his friend wouldn't stand for this. He would've marched over to each one of them and scream in their face. As the scene was starting to clear, Mr. Eisen decided it was time to go.