He’s right, of course; we’ve all heard the shouting from the street.It should be a comfort, but I can’t help feeling like prey caught between predators.
Nothing happens for a while.Is it strange that they left us here alone?Probably not.We’re zip-tied, and they’re armed.We hardly pose a threat.
The office we’ve been stuffed in has no windows, and no doubt any attempt we make to open the door will be noticed.
Two desks flank the room, topped with chunky computers and a matching set of stationery.The monitor on the left is blinking, a thumb drive nestled among a swarm of cables, abandoned when the alarm sounded.The name plate on the desk says this is Tracy’s desk.I hope she’s okay out there.
“Brutes,” Sterling calls them, and I see Hal’s lip curl before he’s covering it under a shaky hand.
“Maybe they’re a little rough about it, but can you really blame them for wanting a piece back of what’s been taken from them?”
“And what’s that?”Sterling asks, ever the investigator.
He’s started pulling at the laces on one shoe, but I’m not sure why.Maybe they came undone while we were being dragged in here.
“Dignity.Pride.”Hal pauses, and it isn’t until his shoulders sag that I realize how tall he looked before.Curled over his knees again, he looks small and timid.It seems so much more like an act now.
I need to start paying more attention.
“What sort of work do you do, Hal?”
His eyes flash, and I watch as his index finger taps a rhythm on his thigh.I guess the shock hasn’t worn off yet.
“Construction.”
Tap, tap, tap.
I perk up.“Oh?Houses or commercial?My pa did his apprenticeship with New Build before he came home and started his own business.”
The gift of personal information works as I wanted it to, smoothing a little of the tension in his jaw.
“Oh, yeah?I got a bunch of guys who started there, too, before they all got pushed out because of budget cuts.”His words are laced with bitterness.
I gentle my voice.“It’s a good thing they have you looking out for them now.”
The tension is back.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Yeah, they do, and I’m gonna make sure they can take care of their families because I’m not a heartless corporate fuck.”
Beside me, Sterling stills.He drops his shoelace and looks over at Hal, his body tight, like a violin string.Poised for action.
“Being a boss takes a lot of responsibility,” Hal says.His knuckles are dark with dried blood.
The tapping stops.
“You got a family?”
The weight of Sterling’s, “No,” hits me in the chest, the delivery thick with meaning.
“Well, my crew is family, and that means making sacrifices.”Said with the conviction of a man who isn’t planning something, but executing it.
I need to move.Sterling is stuck in place, eyes locked on Hal while Hal stares back.I leave them to their odd little standoff, twisting my wrists inside the zip tie.It doesn’t budge.
I sigh.What would I even do if I got my hands free?I can’t fight.But I can’t sit here and do nothing.
At least if I could reach the computer, I could?—
