The Plot Thickens

Endgame.

"Hand it over, and we won't have any issues," the small child seemed all the more threatening while holding a colt 1851 navy revolver. His 'Guns in Panama' graphic-tee felt a bit ironic now. "I'm not gonna ask again, comrade."

There was a long held silence, one that felt eerily similar to 'the room' he was contained in before. The two maintained eye contact for a scary length of time. "Doodlebob...oh dear Doodlebob. I believe I may have judged you a bit too harshly," he began tapping his foot on the concrete flooring, his eyes still locked in with Doodle's, and a childish grin forming from ear to ear. "Before I had thought you were merely a wrench in our plan—some lowlife commoner who heard more than he should have. Now I know I was sorely mistaken. Just the fact that you got to this room proves your true strength..."

"Get to the point, kid," Doodle snapped angrily. He instantly regretted giving attitude to the dude with a gun, but he couldn't hold himself back. His voice was just too annoying!

"What I'm getting at is..." his grin expanded, angering Doodlebob even more so. "Join me. You have more than proved your worth in the past days...you could be a mighty powerful asset, or there's the alternative," Moon took a step forward, making the gun in his hand more apparent. "Just push that button, Doodle. Blow it all to smithereens!"

"But...your own friends are up there. You really just want to betray them, kill them?" The thought was unsettling. If that's what he would do to his own partners, what would be done to him?"

"They were never my friends, I only was acquainted with them to get what I wanted. They were never part of the final plan, but you Doodle..." he laughed, just hard enough to make Doodle feel uncomfortable. "Let's just say there's room for two on the top. Me and you, you and I. Partners in crime."

Doodle looked down at the detonator, thinking. There was no way he would push. Not a chance. But if the alternative was death—and the bombs would be detonated anyway. If he complied, the office would be destroyed. If he denied, he would die, Moon would have the remote, and the office would be destroyed. The only difference was his own life. Would it be selfish of him to go along with it?

He cursed himself for even considering such an act. But those were the people who fired him. Those were the people that had him banned for not having his I.D. Those were the people who didn't believe him when he told them there would be a terrorist attack that very day. Did they deserve his mercy?

"Hurry up, Doodlebob." His smile was fading, clearly growing impatient with him.

Doodle shut his eyes, tight. He felt the remote in his hands, wondering what his next course of action would be. He probably looked like a total idiot, but he didn't care. He had to make a decision, and fast.

His brain and his heart clashed, trying to come to a conclusion. All until a voice ringed inside his head. "You can't just run away from your problems, Doodle. If you don't make things right, nothing will get better. You should have learned that damned well with ARS."

ARS...

———

"And what did you want me to do, huh?" Doodle raged. His small stature and angry personality made him look like a chihuahua next to his husband. "Get a raise? Find a new job?"

"Of course not. No one wants a high school dropout working for them, no one except that low end children's office. You're pathetic," ARS said, refusing to match Doodle's shouting.

"It's a wonderful place, why can't you recognize that?  And I don't see you getting a job!" He steadily approached the taller man, closing the distance between them. His breaths became quicker, and his heart was racing.