For Want of a Mask

Chapter Seven: The Bureau

In a matter of seconds, the alarm would engage, and Angela would have to explain to a bunch of security guards what she was doing in a high-security engineering office she didn't work at on a Saturday afternoon. And why she wasn't wearing any clothes, but that would be the least of her worries.

To avoid that, she needed to move, fast. But a crucial choice gripped her. Mark hadn't brought the shirt down from the upper floor for her, but it might still be somewhere up there. Then again, he might also have taken it back with him, to destroy it or whatever, or he may have even left it on the floor in the high-security computer room that Angela didn't have the right fingerprints to get into.

Even if it was accessible, there was no time to fetch it. Angela told herself this repeatedly as she sprinted through the corridor, down the last set of stairs, and into the building's lobby, the wind at her sides. Bare feet slapped against tiles as she ran for the door, slammed the open button, and slid out into the parking lot.

The door clicked and locked behind her, and she heard the final series of beeps that meant the alarm had engaged. There was no going back now.

Angela stepped gingerly through the parking lot, casting glances back at the office building. She didn't appreciate being abandoned there by Mark, but at least it was private and empty. Now she was out in public again and any random passerby might spot her.

Something was hanging in one of the upper floor windows of the office building, Angela noticed. It couldn't be. It was! A blue square, which could only be Mark's shirt, was hanging up on a third floor window handle. It looked to be missing a few patches from the back, but still appeared very much wearable.

Angela threw her head back and screamed. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she raged and stomped around the parking lot. If she had just taken a little less time in the shower, or a bit less time trying to dry her hair! If she had just chosen to check upstairs before leaving! Maybe she could have made it, and she would have had a shirt.

But no, she had to sprint to outrun the alarm. She had had just enough time to get out and no more. And she hadn't known about it when she was showering, nor had she known Mark would abandon her with a mere note.

Now she had nothing. No shirt, no shoes, no phone (she'd left it drying on grass at Mark's), and no idea when or if Mark would come back for her. She wrapped her arms tight around her body in a pitiful self-embrace.

As if to prove to her that things could still get worse, a police siren ripped through the air. It was coming this way. Angela knew if she was caught by the police, she'd be arrested for indecent exposure. That was not how she needed to end this horrible, horrible day. She glanced back at the office. No cover there, not even an alcove or a tree to hide behind. So she ran.

The police siren neared. Angela sprinted down the sidewalk, bare feet slapping against asphalt, breasts heaving and making her wish for her sports bra with every step. The police car was going to come down this street any moment now, and she was still too far from the nearest alley. There was no way she could outrun it.

There! There was an open door to the building on her left, and it didn't look like there were any people inside. Angela turned on a dime and sprinted up two steps at a time, clearing the entrance and diving to one side of it just as the police car turned the corner. Breathing hard, she crouched against the wall and waited for the car to pass by.

The siren soon faded into the distance. The police car hadn't come to arrest her, either for breaking into Mark's office or for running around town in the altogether. But now that the immediate threat was gone, she had a thought. Didn't people who got arrested for public nudity usually get bundled into coats or blankets? Would that... could that be worth it, actually? Trying to solve this problem by herself hadn't exactly been working out so far. Everything she did just seemed to expose her to more people.