I WAS JUST nodding off when my phone rang again. It was Sarah, of course. Only her third call this evening.
“Hey, Virtue, what’s shaking?”
“Me, from all the coffee. What time is it?”
“You should know, you’re the one at work.”
I looked over at the screen. 12:45 a.m. “Oh, this shift is dragging,” I said. “Luckily, I got some sketching done.”
“Nice. Any animals?”
I glanced down at the latest image, a hyper-realistic depiction of a Glock 17, a gun I’d used before. “No, not animals. But I take requests.”
“Oooh, draw me a panda. I like pandas.”
“Really? Those loafers?”
“Says the guy drawing pictures instead of working.”
“I withdraw the comment.”
“You know, Virtue, you’ve got a pretty cushy job there.”
I nodded. “Oh yeah, I love being bored out of my skull.”
“You just have to embrace the job.”
“Not much to embrace up here.”
“Maybe you should find something to stimulate your mind. Maybe bring a book, or do some sudoku.”
“Yeah, well, the sketching is keeping me going. I’ve almost filled this book.”
“It’s guns, isn’t it? You’re drawing guns.”
I flipped through the book. Yes, it was mostly guns. Some drawings were exploded technical diagrams, some were side-on views … but more than a few were pointed at me. “No, not all guns. I’ve got some other things in here. Flowers, landscapes … I’m sure I can draw you a panda, if you like.”
“Maybe take an online course. Take a course in computers or something.”
“Yes, mother. Hey, shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“I can sleep at work. Like you.”
“Guess we’re both stuck in dead-end jobs.”
“Speak for yourself, loser. I’m going to make it big!” She had a brightness in her voice that made me believe that.
“Okay, okay. I’ve probably got to get back to patrolling. And I’m all out of coffee.”
“Geez, didn’t they fix the machine yet?”
“No, still using the coffee pods. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay, Virtue. Try standing up for yourself for a change. It’s no good if you spend all of your well-earned money on coffee pods. The least they can do is provide free coffee.”
“I suppose I could always … send them a … receipt …” Some movement on the screen interrupted my train of thought.
“Hey, what is it?”
“I don’t know. Something on the monitor.”
“What’s on the monitor?”
“I’m not sure. It’s a truck. Looks like a late night delivery at the roll-up door.”
“You expecting a delivery?”
“Nope.” I scanned the nearby clipboard. “Nothing scheduled. Maybe for one of the other businesses?”
It was a cube van. It was sitting just in front of the loading dock door. Three men exited the van and were approaching the side door and keypad. Looked like they were punching in a code to get inside.
“Probably nothing,” I said. “Just a delivery. I’ll note it in the logbook.”
“You live an exciting life, Virtue.”
“I know it. All parasailing with celebrities for me. Look, I’d better—”
Somewhere in the building, I heard a low crack, like a distant firecracker. But I shouldn’t hear anything like that up here. Accompanying the strange sound was a flash of light, causing the monitor to over-saturate for a second. As it subsided, a light burn left a ghostly image on the screen.
“Hey, Sarah,”
“Yeah, Virtue.”
“Gotta go.” I hung up on her and put the phone down. I looked again at the screen, clicking on the loading bay camera to bring it to the forefront. The frame expanded, and the figures had opened the roll-up door and were guiding the truck inside the building.
Suddenly, things were getting interesting.
I sat for a moment, all the sleep fatigue draining from my body as the adrenaline kicked in. Okay, what now? I never really planned for such a situation.
I grabbed the security training manual, which included phone numbers to call, the layout of the building, types of monitoring and alarm systems used, and procedures for various scenarios. This type of situation appeared to require a call to the security company, a call to police and authorities, and then …
I flipped through the rest of the pages, but found no other procedure. Call the cops. And nothing else.
Well, except for the words “DO NOT ENGAGE WITH OFFENDERS!”
I looked at the screens again, and the loading bay door was now closed. I switched to the lobby camera, and it looked normal. The rest of the cameras on the main floor showed nothing out of the ordinary. Did I make a mistake? Was this a simple misunderstanding? Just a figment of my sleepy imagination? I had been dozing this evening. Maybe the boredom had finally done me in, and—
Another distant crash cleared those thoughts out of my head. I jumped out of my chair and ran from the security room. I stopped mid-stride, returned to the room, grabbed my phone, and rummaged around in my backpack, producing a telescoping baton with a stick-on bow stuck to the handle. It was a joke gift from Sarah, and the tag on it read, “Happy first day. Remember, front toward enemy.” I pulled off the tag and the bow, tossing them into the wastebasket. My last thought as I exited the room was if Sarah had ever seen or used a claymore mine. Knowing her … probably.
I ran to the elevator and saw that it was on its way up from the lobby. I swallowed hard and ran around the corner to hide. When the elevator door opened, three serious guys appeared, each holding what looked like a machine gun. Specifically, they looked like CZ Scorpion 9mm carbines. Something you can get legally in Canada, except not in a fully automatic format. I assumed these were the fully automatic ones. I didn’t want to test them out.
They went directly to the security desk. I was glad I wasn’t there. Their chatter was halfway professional, as if they were ex-military. Mercenaries. Lazy ones.
“Guard is AWOL.”
“Check your six.”
“Where is this guy?”
“Charlie Mike. Let’s circle back and see if he’s still on this floor.”
Really? Charlie Mike? Idiots.
But these were idiots with guns. The worst kind of idiots.
They were decked out in black, pseudo-tactical gear: cargo pants, black Wooly Pully sweaters (the ones with the epaulets), and combat boots. Like they had just raided a surplus store before coming all the way out here. These guys weren’t veterans. They carried themselves like paintball players from a regional sales office. Who were these guys?
Still, as mentioned before … idiots with guns. I figured my best bet was to get to the stairwell, get out of here, and wait for the police.
Although, I did have this brand-new telescoping baton. It’d be a shame not to use it at least once. Especially when it totally warranted the use of one.
After about ten seconds of deliberating over the use of force against these guys, I decided the best course of action was to play it safe and actually leave the premises.
I was just about to make my move to the stairwell, when two things happened which forced me onto a different path. First of all, I could hear them messing about in the security office. One of them was explaining his hacking skills to the other.
“Okay, exterior doors and elevators are locked. Access to all phone systems is restricted.”
Second, my phone rang. I guess it was time for Sarah’s check in. The theme from the IT Crowd blasted from my pocket and echoed down the quiet hallway. The goons started heading in my direction, and it was time for me to split.
And to put my phone on vibrate.