InSecurity

InSecurity

InSecurity is a tale of security guards and the antics of a livelier shift. It’s a tale of wins and a tale of defeats. These are their stories.

Roy checks his phone and he sees its 2:42 AM. Just about quitting time he says to himself. He begins to take care of end of shift paperwork when the building manager Marie approaches the desk and spoke so fast he had trouble keeping up, “I can’t wait to pass out tonight. This was not my day. You gonna be ready to walk me to my car when I finish locking up at 3?”

“Absolutely, I’m almost wrapped up here. What went so wrong today?” said Roy.

Marie waves him off and yells over her shoulder, “I’ll tell you on the walk. It’s a shitshow.”

Roy runs to the restroom takes care of business and then he unhooks his phone from the charger. Marie arrives in the lobby first so she does a quick check of the revolver in her bag, but she has to rush and put it away as she hears Roy approaching. Roy notices her normal backpack has been replaced with a simple purse but he thinks nothing of it.

Marie asks, “Why don’t you carry a weapon? This city is too dangerous to be unarmed.”

“I’m not unarmed. I keep a knife and a retractable baton on me, but I leave my guns at home. I feel comfortable enough with just these.” Roy said all this with a chuckle which Marie found odd.

Roy, cutting the chuckling short asked her, “So about your day…why was it so bad?”

Marie stiffened and decided to try honesty, “I got mugged by the junkies near the parking garage today, and I asked you to walk with me because I know you will back me up when I walk right past the parking garage and into their ratty apartment complex. I need that bag back. It’s somewhat sentimental but the flash drives in the pockets are full of valuable data.”

Roy walks a few minutes in silence thinking of what she just said to him. They past up the parking garage and she looks at him and nods her head. Together, they enter the back of the apartment complex and head for the stairs.

“How do you know which apartment?” Roy asked. Marie lied “I filed a complaint against them with the cops the paper work gave me their address. That’s why they don’t hang around the building, but It’s also why they mugged me. It was a double-edged sword situation so now I’m gonna show them my sword. I need you to go in hard and fast can you do that?”

Roy said, "Yeah, I’ll blow through these rickety doors but what if they have more guys or more guns?” Roy didn’t have time to ask more questions as he is stopped by Marie’s hand on his shoulder.

She motions at the door and him to hit it. He just shakes his head and barrels forward through the door. He grabs the first guy he sees and slams his face into the wall. Marie pulls the revolver and clobbers the next guy from behind before freezing two men in the doorway.

Roy whips out his baton and strikes the man Marie pistol whipped again. Then he asks, “Where is the fucking bag? and I want all the stuff that was in it.”

The junkies laugh and say, "We been stealing stuff all day. I don’t even remember this broad.”

Marie shoots him in the crotch and begins to yell, “Hand over the flash drives!”

Roy moves without thinking and smashes the baton against the last man standings elbow and yells, "Take me to the big bag you stole or I’m gonna let her kill you all!”

Crying and stumbling he took them to a back room where they hoarded the loot. Marie immediately spots her bag and Roy begins to fill a large duffel with smaller items. They leave the four men broken but alive.

Back at the parking garage, they begin to laugh uncontrollably loading the bag into her tiny car. She pulls the car to a stop and leans over and kisses Roy deeply. She hands him the $900 in her wallet and thanks him. He pulls the bag out of her car and into his truck then he puts his number into her phone.

“Call me sometime. We can try something less bloody.” She drove off into the night as he went back to finish the remaining hour of his shift.