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Greg screamed into the phone, “What?”
“Hey, calm down. It’s just me, Susan. I was wondering if you had figured anything out yet, and if you’re planning on coming to work soon. Also, I thought I’d update you with what I found.”
“Well, to the first question, no. I haven’t figured anything out yet. And to the second, yes. I plan on coming in today. What did you find?”
“I found a safe in the project room. I didn’t have the combination, so I hired a locksmith to come and open it. Once the safe was open, I found a USB drive. I figured maybe she’d put a backup, or at least her project notes, on it. I plugged the drive into my computer and tried to open the icon in the menu, but it’s asking for a password. You wouldn’t happen to know that would you?”
“No, I don’t. She never trusted me with stuff like that. I wish she had so we could fix this.”
“Just great. We’re stuck.”
“Not necessarily. Maybe we can find someone good at hacking passwords. It would be a sensitive matter since they might have to be in the project room. Or do you think we could crack it outside the room?”
“I can try it on my computer. If the USB drive is the only thing with a password, maybe we can hack it from there, then take it in the other room and see what we can find.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be there around noon. See you then. Oh, again, I’m sorry for screwing this all up.”
“Yeah, you should be. See you at noon.”
Greg stumbled around his apartment trying to get a grip on what he needed to do. Finally, he headed to the bathroom to get a shower.
Once showered and shaved, he got dressed and went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Opening the fridge, he looked inside to see what he had and was disappointed that he had not gone shopping in a while. There was nothing eatable in the fridge, so he slammed the door shut in frustration. Guess I’ll have to get something to eat on the way in.
He set his briefcase near the door and sat down on the bench to put his shoes on. Once he was ready, he grabbed his lightweight brown coat and headed out the door. He pushed the down button for the elevator and grew impatient while waiting for the doors to open. When they finally opened, he stepped in and punched the button for the parking garage. A few minutes later, the elevator suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
“What the heck is going on?” Hey, anyone out there? This dang thing just stopped between floors. Hello! Hello!” he yelled. He checked his watch, saw that thirty minutes had passed, and no one had come to help. Taking out a cloth, he wiped the sweat from his eyes, then dug out his cell phone and dialed 911.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”
“Yes, my name is Greg Moretti, and I’m stuck in the elevator at my apartment building.”
“Can you tell me the address, please?”
“Yes, it’s 11245 North 76th Street, Seattle.”
“Okay, I’ll have someone there to help you as soon as possible.”
“What do you mean as soon as possible?”
“Sir, we’ve got a lot going on right now with the small earthquake that just hit.”
“Oh crap, is that what caused this?”
“Probably, sir. I’m sorry that you’re stuck in the elevator. As soon as someone becomes available, they’ll come over and get you out.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Greg hung up and decided he’d better call Susan. If he didn’t, she’d be mad as hell. He quickly dialed her number and waited for her to answer.
“Hey, Greg. You okay? We just had a small tremor.”
“Yes and no. I’m physically okay, but I’m trapped in my apartment building’s elevator. The nine-one-one operator said it could be a while before someone gets here.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me. Have you made any progress on the password situation?”
“No, not yet. I’ll have to hire someone, but hackers aren’t necessarily the trustworthy kind.”
“No, not usually, but maybe we can find one who can be helpful without compromising the situation.”
“I hope so. I guess you won’t be in at noon.”
“No, I won’t. If it takes too long, I may just go back to my apartment and chill for the rest of the day. You know with traffic and all, it would be a waste of time trying to get over there.”
“True. Well, good luck. Hey, call me when you get out of there, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
Greg hung up and looked around the small space he was forced to reside in for who knew how long. Silly me, I didn’t eat anything before I left, and if this takes too long, I’m going to get hungry, or worse. Ugg.
Wearied from standing, he leaned against the back wall and slid down to sit on the floor until rescuers arrived to extricate him. He hoped they wouldn’t forget about him. At least another hour went by, and still no one came.
He tugged at his collar, waving his hand in front of his face trying to cool down. It was getting hot and stuffy in the elevator. Unable to get any relief from fanning himself, he stood up and took his coat off. He paced around in the small space and became more agitated the longer he was stuck there. “This is ludicrous!” he yelled out loud. “Why hasn’t anyone come yet?” He checked his watch and saw he had been stuck for four hours. His patience having run out, he pulled out his phone, almost dropping it due to his trembling hands, and dialed 911 once again.
“What’s your emergency?”
“Yes, I’m still stuck in this blasted elevator, and it’s been four hours and no one has come to rescue me yet.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we’ve been really busy with more urgent calls.”
“Well, can you tell me when less urgent calls will get taken care of?”
“Let me check into it, sir. Please wait.” She put him on hold for about thirty seconds before coming back with an answer. “Sir, it appears that it could be a few more hours before anyone can get to you.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s crazy!”
“Sir, you should try to calm down.”
“Calm down? I’m anything but calm. You better get someone over here soon. I’ve not eaten all day. I have a sugar level issue, and stress kicks it off. If I die in here, you guys will be responsible.”
“Um, sir, why didn’t you mention this earlier? That puts you up higher on the priority list. I’ll get someone to you soon, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He hung up while shaking his head at the incompetence of the fire and rescue people. He continued to wait for another two hours before he heard someone hollering.
“Fire department! Call out, so we can find what floors you’re between.”
Really, he thought. Why don’t they hit the button and bring it down? Oh that’s right. The power probably isn’t back on yet. Again, he heard the yelling as it got a little closer. Fine, he thought, and yelled, “I’m here!”
“Yell again; I think we’re close by.”
“I. Am. Right. Here!”
“Yes, we hear you. Stand by while we work the doors open.”
“Sure.”
The firemen pried open the doors and looked up to see that the elevator seemed to be stuck between floors above them. With the electrical system fried, they’d have to rescue him through the hatch.
“Sir, we see the elevator, but there’s a slight problem.”
“And what’s that?”
“We can’t bring it down or up to any doors, so we’ll come in from the top. We’ll bring you out the hatch and pull you up to the next floor.”
“Wonderful.”
“Just hang on a little longer.”
“Sure, it’s not like I haven’t been in here all day. What’s a few more minutes, right?”
The firemen shook their heads at his sarcastic tone but shrugged it off, realizing his frustration from the predicament he’d been in all day. They headed up the stairs until they were two floors above the stuck elevator. From there, they set up their repelling ropes and gear so they could safely get down to the top of the elevator. One rope had a harness that they’d place Greg in so they could pull him back up.
Once they had everything set up, Curt Young, a youthful and robust fireman, repelled down to the elevator roof. He arrived with a loud thump as he jumped onto the top. He knocked on the top of the elevator to let Greg know he was there.
“Hey, my name is Curt Young. I need to run a drill to unscrew the hatch, so you’ll hear a loud noise.”
“Okay, Curt.”
Curt ran the drill and took out the four screws holding the hatch closed. Once finished, he pulled up; and the hatch opened, revealing a very sweaty and haggled Greg. Curt lowered himself into the elevator and brought the extra line with him. “Hi, Greg. As I said earlier, my name is Curt Young.”
“Hi, nice to see you in person, Curt.”
“I need you to gather up your things, and then I’ll place this harness around your legs and waist. Once I’ve got it around you, I’ll tighten it down some and then yank on the rope, which will signal my guy’s up top to pull you up. Any questions?”
“No.”
“Good. Here we go.” Curt worked to get Greg into the harness. Curt was having some difficulty since Greg kept grabbing onto Curt’s shoulders to steady his shaking legs. Once he had it around him, he tightened it down and yanked on the rope.
“I also need you to hold on as tight as you can, especially since you’re holding your brief case and jacket,” Curt instructed.
“Okay, I’ll try,” Greg said as he weakly gripped the rope.
The fireman above Greg slowly began inching him up to the floor they were on. As he drew close enough to the fireman, two of them leaned over and began hauling him out of the elevator shaft. It took about ten minutes, but he was finally out of that heat coffin.
The Fire Chief, Black Thorn, was young for a fire chief, but he had years of experience, and it could be seen in his calloused hands and the rugged features in his face. His hair was matted and sweaty from being underneath the fire helmet. He turned to Greg, who was sitting on the floor and asked, “Greg, how are you doing?”
“I’m weak and shaking from not eating all day.”
“Okay, we’ll get you down to the ambulance, and they can check you over.”
“Sounds good.”
The chief called on his radio for the EMTs to come up with a stretcher to carry Greg down.
A few minutes later, Greg was carted down ten flights of stairs. It was not pleasant because of all the bouncing up and down, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t complain. Just glad I’m finally out of that stinkin’ elevator.
They finally reached the bottom floor and took him through the lobby and outside to the waiting ambulance. The EMTs quickly got him set up with oxygen, took his blood pressure, and pricked his finger to measure his sugar level. The reading was 43, and the EMT knew that was at a dangerous level. He immediately started a glucose drip and informed Greg that he would need to go to the hospital for care and observation.
“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you?” the EMT asked.
“Nothing. Just, glad to be out of that elevator.”
Greg’s blood sugar continued to plummet even further, and he had become delirious.
The ambulance rushed him to the emergency room, where he was given another bag of glucose; and eventually he was well enough to eat something. They kept him overnight for additional observation and tests, which he didn’t like. But he was in no position to argue.
The doctors ran several tests and couldn’t determine what was causing his sugar levels to drop so low. He wasn’t diabetic, and he ate healthy. They decided to do one more test — a special CT scan, which did not reveal good news. It showed that he had small tumors on his pancreas. The doctor informed Greg about his condition and explained he would need surgery.
“Really, doc. I don’t need surgery. I can manage my sugar levels well on my own.”
“I understand your hesitance, but if you don’t get it taken care of while you’re in the hospital, it could eventually get worse and may even kill you.”
Greg sat up straighter in the hospital bed, alarmed by the doctor’s prognosis. “I guess if you must operate, then go ahead. I still don’t like the idea, but I understand.”
Greg called Susan after the doctor left.
“Hey, Greg. Did they finally get you out of the elevator?”
“Yeah, just took them all day, and now I’m in the hospital.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I’ve had an issue with my sugar level dropping unexpectedly for years and have done well at catching it. The doctors ran tests and said they found some small, benign tumors on my pancreas, and I’ll have to have surgery.”
“Wow! Surgery, that’s crazy. Glad you’re out of the elevator and doing better though. Do you want me to come by and see you off to your surgery tomorrow?”
“Sure, I guess.” I guess now that I’m in the hospital she’s not as mad at me.
“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow. Do you know what time you’re going in?”
“They said around six a.m., and it should take about three hours.”
“All right, see you sometime before six.”
“Okay. Hey, Susan, again I’m sorry for what I did, and I hope we can find a solution to this mess.”
“Me, too, Greg. Me, too.”
