I swallowed down the anger working its way up my throat. I wanted to lay into that man for treating me the way he had. I didn’t give a shit if I’d been here for two fucking hours. I had a college degree with a two-year internship to back up my qualifications, and they had me riding the bench!
I flopped down into my chair and watched out of the corner of my eye as my editor made his way into the manager’s office. I watched the show unfold as the manager stood to his feet and yelled at the editor, pointing his finger into the man’s face and berating him until he was nothing but a fucking puddle on the floor. I grinned to myself. It served him right for power-tripping all over the fucking place.
But while they continued to fight, a thought occurred to me.
No one’s watching you.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I snatched my things up and bolted for the door. I pulled out my cell phone and Googled where the hell this nightclub was, and I was shocked to find that it was only four blocks north from my place of work. I rushed across the deserted road and ran as quickly as I could. If there was nothing to report, then fine. That was that. But I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I figured that shit out for myself.
Giselle may have been a party girl, but she wouldn’t have texted me if she felt like this was truly nothing.
I knew that if I could get even a shred of information out of someone from that place, I’d be able to prove myself. Maybe then they’d move me to first shift instead of this graveyard shift shit. Yeah, yeah, I knew I was the rookie. The new person. The dirt on the bottom of everyone’s shoe. But damn it, I was good at my job.
I didn't know much, but I knewthatmuch.
“What the fuck?” I murmured.
Even though I was still a block away from the club, people were practically running for their lives. Alarms blared in every direction and the nightclub’s sign quickly went dark. My jaw hit the floor as I pulled out my phone. I recorded everything in front of me as I crept from car to car, concealing myself while people ran by me screaming their fucking heads off. Heels clacked and men dragged their women along. An endless number of people trickled out of every door they could shove themselves through.
And as I hid behind the corner of the brick facade in the alleyway, I continued to film.
“What the hell is going on?” I whispered to myself.
The bouncers at the front of the club refused to let people in. They turned people away as if they were closing their doors for the evening, and I knew then and there that I had stumbled upon pure gold. No nightclub closed their doors at midnight unless something was very, very wrong.
“What the hell are you doing, come on!” a voice exclaimed as they passed me.
I reached out and grabbed the girl’s arm before I stepped out of the shadows. “Do you know what’s going on?”
I didn’t put the camera in her face, but I held it at my side while it continued to record. “I don’t know. It’s just—it’s chaos. They’re clearing the club. We have to go!”
I pulled away from the girl’s grasp and she waved her hand at me. She filtered out into the road before taking off her heels and sprinting off into the distance. I shook my head as I turned around. I watched as the emergency exit door that filtered into the alleyway slowly swung itself shut.
And again, I reacted with my gut.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I whispered.
I lunged for the door and cut the video before I prepared myself to start up a new one. I slipped into the club, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever the hell was happening.
But a shadowy figure stepped in front of me. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I slowly looked up until I found my neck craned all the way back. “Holy hell, you’re big.”
The man folded his gigantic arms across his protruding chest. “Club is closed. Leave.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Fine, whatever. Just trying to have a good time.”
“Have it somewhere else.”
I walked back out the emergency exit and the door got slammed closed behind me. I flicked the guy off, hoping he saw it on whatever bullshit camera system that place had. Tires squealed to my right and I turned my head. I whipped my phone up and started recording once more, watching as black SUVs turned down the alleyway heading straight for me.
I stepped off the concrete steps and ducked into the shadows, filming the blacked-out SUVs as they rushed by.
And one by one, I caught their license plates on my recording.
“Bingo,” I whispered.
And just as I saved the video to my gallery, my phone rang.
