Switchblade

Chapter 9: Breakfast

"And you want to sell the restaurant, not just the lot?" David asked.
"I can't sell the lot, I don't own it." Denise explained. "So yes, the restaurant."
"So whoever buys it will have to continue to rent the lease?"
"W-Well...if they can buy it then maybe they can move it somewhere else. Buy their own building or lot and have it built there."
"Sounds like you're asking for a lot from your buyer."
"No, no, I just...I just really need to sell this. Soon. Please."
"Why is that?" he asked.
She sniffed and looked down at his desk. "I just...I need the money as quickly as possible."
"Right. How much money does your restaurant make in a month?"
"Um...If we stay busy then somewhere around $20,000, but if it's slow then no more than $12,000."
He nodded his head and began writing.
"Unfortunately...it's been slower than slow recently. Ever since the economy plummeted."
"How much is the lease?" he asked.
"About $2,500 a month." she sniffed and nodded.
"Alright." He kept writing.

Denise was close to tears at the situation and the idea of selling the family owned restaurant. But she was even more hurt by her daughter's abduction. She knew she was an adult but no parent could sit back and watch their child be stripped from them and not do anything about it. She was prepared for Tati to be mad at her when she returns, but there was nothing else she could do. She didn't own the house to sell it. She couldn't sell her car, it wouldn't be enough and how would she get anywhere afterwards to make the rest of the money? The restaurant was her only resort and it crushed her spirit.

"Well, I can help you, but I can't promise this will be a quick sell. It's gonna take someone with a lot of money and a bad spending problem to buy this restaurant."
She sniffed and nodded her head, eyes still wet with tears.
"But we'll do our best, okay?"
"Yes, thank you." she nodded.
They both stood up and he held out his hand. The two shook.
"Have a good afternoon, Ms. Waters."
She nodded. "You too." With her purse in her arms, she wiped her cheeks and turned to leave the office.

~•~

Tati stood pacing her room with a plastic bag in her hand.
She had an idea.

She'd spent her first night in the room last night but didn't go to sleep. She didn't even lay in the bed. She sat against the door like usual and plotted.

She heard a knock and picked her head up.
"Wake up!"
That wasn't the big guy from yesterday's voice.
She could hear that the door was being unlocked.
"Breakfast time." he said as it started to peel open.
Tati pounced and threw the bag over the man's head. His hands were occupied with her breakfast platter and juice. She turned him around and pulled it tight, making him lose his balance from the suddenness. They both fell to the floor. She put her legs over his arms and kept pulling. Watching him squirm and struggle to breathe through the plastic bag that previously held her newly bought clothes.

"I'm not gonna kill you, I'm just gonna make you sleep for a little while," she told him.

She kept pulling with arms growing tired and he finally stopped fighting.

She kept the bag there as a precaution but checked his pulse. He was still alive.

She slowly eased up.

Breakfast all over the floor along with her spilled juice but it was worth it. The man continued to lay there.

She looked out into the hallway.

Then stepped over the unconscious body and started walking towards the elevator. If there was a staircase she could use she would've taken that instead but she couldn't even find it. There was no specially marked door and she didn't want to waste time testing all of them. What if she opened one and it brought her to a room full of goons?
"That's a fucking fire hazard." she said quietly.