Short Story, Part II
Gordon’s Buick sputtered and moaned as it slowly lurched into the designated parking space. Add a tune up and filter change to the list, thought Gordon. He pulled the key from the ignition and stared ahead blankly. “Damn that kid!” he spat, pounding the steering wheel. Then in a softer tone through clenched teeth, “And damn his mother….Dammit, Nikki!”
“Dammit.”
Gordon locked the car and joined the cattle drive through the parking area and into the revolving doors of the syndicate building. The lobby was cold, marbled and cavernous. There was a worn out instrumental loop of “Do you know the way to San Jose” filtering through the stale air, with the occasional haunting echo of laughter from a distant conversation. This was work and Gordon now loathed it. After the routine security run through, Gordon schlepped his bad posture and wrinkled suit up to the 143rd floor. He slid his card key through the sensor to find Barry was already in his office. Towering over Gordon at six foot seven, he stood at the desk, thick file under his arm, sipping coffee and flipping through the mountain of paper. Gordon gave him a look and then made a line to the coffee maker. He poured himself a cup in his Dirty Harry mug and rubbed the fading heat transfer of a sneering Clint. Nikki had bought it for him back before they were married… Before they took the trip… before…dammit! Gordon took a sip to stop his lip from quivering and turned to look at his unwelcome guest. Barry, who hadn't taken his eyes off the papers on the desk, pointed his crooked finger to the metal chair in front. Frowning, Gordon slouched toward the chair. It was review time.
Things for Gordon had been much brighter a month and half before. There was the rapid rise up the syndicate social ladder and the three promotions. He had a solid family unit and a spacious two-bedroom pocket in the intermediate towers. No one in the history of the syndicate had ever risen so high so fast. For Gordon, it was the long awaited payoff for his hard work and even harder luck. He had been close before but always passed over for the younger, brighter socialite. Not this time, though. This time it had been Gordon’s turn to shine. His first few weeks in the higher class were productive. He put forward three new initiatives and authored two addendums that later became law. There were the countless invites to society functions, one with the Chancellor himself in attendance. Gordon really could do no wrong at that point. His only mistake was that damn trip with Nikki and Fisher. The two didn’t need to come, but Gordon wanted to do something special for his family and Nikki needed the extra society training. In retrospect, he knew the incident wasn’t really her fault, but it was easier to blame someone else for his fall. He was tired and broken… It was just easier to blame her.
“I don’t see last week’s status report here.” Barry barked. Gordon frowned again and popped open his case to retrieve the request. His briefcase was a jumbled mess of paper and Gordon overestimated his ability to remain calm. He fumbled through the container with urgency and in doing so dropped the entire contents to the floor. Someone let out a desperate “NO!” as everything hit the floor. Gordon realized, after several seconds, that the “someone” was him. Barry sat at the desk, wide-eyed and motionless. Gordon was frozen in fear and staring at Barry. “My God, man…. Where did you get that?” Barry asked. Gordon could only get out broken sounds, “Uh… Fish… y… the…uh…” Barry got up and walked over to the spill, all the while staring at the floor. He bent down and picked up Fisher’s Monday Bear, squeezing it tightly, shaking a little. “ I have a good mind to report you to the security unit, Gordo…” Gordon put his head in his hands, “Yes… I… I understand if you do…” Barry stared at the bear for a few seconds longer then darted a wide-eyed glare to Gordon. “ This changes everything, Gordo.” He said. Gordon looked up, nearly in tears. “It does?” Barry raced to lock the office door and darted to the windows to make sure no one was looking. “We’re on the 143rd, Barry… I doubt anyone is looking.” “We’ll need to move fast.” Barry barked. “It’s already Friday… we only have three days until Monday.”
“Dammit.”
Gordon locked the car and joined the cattle drive through the parking area and into the revolving doors of the syndicate building. The lobby was cold, marbled and cavernous. There was a worn out instrumental loop of “Do you know the way to San Jose” filtering through the stale air, with the occasional haunting echo of laughter from a distant conversation. This was work and Gordon now loathed it. After the routine security run through, Gordon schlepped his bad posture and wrinkled suit up to the 143rd floor. He slid his card key through the sensor to find Barry was already in his office. Towering over Gordon at six foot seven, he stood at the desk, thick file under his arm, sipping coffee and flipping through the mountain of paper. Gordon gave him a look and then made a line to the coffee maker. He poured himself a cup in his Dirty Harry mug and rubbed the fading heat transfer of a sneering Clint. Nikki had bought it for him back before they were married… Before they took the trip… before…dammit! Gordon took a sip to stop his lip from quivering and turned to look at his unwelcome guest. Barry, who hadn't taken his eyes off the papers on the desk, pointed his crooked finger to the metal chair in front. Frowning, Gordon slouched toward the chair. It was review time.
Things for Gordon had been much brighter a month and half before. There was the rapid rise up the syndicate social ladder and the three promotions. He had a solid family unit and a spacious two-bedroom pocket in the intermediate towers. No one in the history of the syndicate had ever risen so high so fast. For Gordon, it was the long awaited payoff for his hard work and even harder luck. He had been close before but always passed over for the younger, brighter socialite. Not this time, though. This time it had been Gordon’s turn to shine. His first few weeks in the higher class were productive. He put forward three new initiatives and authored two addendums that later became law. There were the countless invites to society functions, one with the Chancellor himself in attendance. Gordon really could do no wrong at that point. His only mistake was that damn trip with Nikki and Fisher. The two didn’t need to come, but Gordon wanted to do something special for his family and Nikki needed the extra society training. In retrospect, he knew the incident wasn’t really her fault, but it was easier to blame someone else for his fall. He was tired and broken… It was just easier to blame her.
“I don’t see last week’s status report here.” Barry barked. Gordon frowned again and popped open his case to retrieve the request. His briefcase was a jumbled mess of paper and Gordon overestimated his ability to remain calm. He fumbled through the container with urgency and in doing so dropped the entire contents to the floor. Someone let out a desperate “NO!” as everything hit the floor. Gordon realized, after several seconds, that the “someone” was him. Barry sat at the desk, wide-eyed and motionless. Gordon was frozen in fear and staring at Barry. “My God, man…. Where did you get that?” Barry asked. Gordon could only get out broken sounds, “Uh… Fish… y… the…uh…” Barry got up and walked over to the spill, all the while staring at the floor. He bent down and picked up Fisher’s Monday Bear, squeezing it tightly, shaking a little. “ I have a good mind to report you to the security unit, Gordo…” Gordon put his head in his hands, “Yes… I… I understand if you do…” Barry stared at the bear for a few seconds longer then darted a wide-eyed glare to Gordon. “ This changes everything, Gordo.” He said. Gordon looked up, nearly in tears. “It does?” Barry raced to lock the office door and darted to the windows to make sure no one was looking. “We’re on the 143rd, Barry… I doubt anyone is looking.” “We’ll need to move fast.” Barry barked. “It’s already Friday… we only have three days until Monday.”