Dangerous Games

Chapter 5

"Okay, man. You ready to do this?"

"Yeah." Todd got the camera and its tripod from the boot of his Chevy. "Hey, you sure we got permission to be here? I don't want no trouble from the cops."

"Hey, stay frosty. I told'ya my dad's in charge of night security in this place. All we gotta do is slip the security guard twenty bucks and he's gonna look the other way, and make sure we're not disturbed."

Todd looked up at the building. Fourteen stories of glistening steel and glass. He couldn't believe it was all theirs for the whole night if they wanted it. He turned to Wayne.

"Does he know why we're here? You know, about this experiment we're doing?"

"Who, my dad? You kiddin' me? I didn't tell him a thing."

"No, the security guard."

"Nope. Just thinks we're kids jerking around, like kids do." Wayne tapped quietly on the glass front door. Just enough to rouse the surly figure in the ill-fitting uniform behind the desk. He ambled over, clearly in no hurry. The night shift was long and dull, and anything he could do to relieve the tedium he would happily draw out.

"Ah, come on," Todd muttered. "I'm freezing my ass off here!"

The figure opened the door. "Yeah, what'ja want?"

"Wayne Harley? I'm here with my friend Todd Burghdoff."

The man looked blank. Then a flicker of recognition crossed his ox-like face. "Oh, yeah. Come on in." He stood back to let them enter, and immediately closed and locked the door behind them. "Ain't nobody else gettin' in tonight! Now, I reckon you lads have got something for me."

Wayne sighed, and rustled around in his pocket, withdrawing two rather crumpled ten-dollar bills. He smoothed them out before handing them to the guard.

The man seemed satisfied. "Okay, you boys have fun. You got the whole building till my shift ends at six. After that, you're outta here. Understood?"

"Understood," Wayne replied, before adding "Oh, we're going to do a little scientific experiment." At this point he nodded towards the camera and tripod that Todd was struggling to carry without dropping. "So, if we're not back down in the lobby by, say, three o'clock, you come looking for us. Okay?"

"Hey! I ain't having no horsing around in here! I like this job – hell, no I actually hate this job, but I need it – and I ain't prepared to lose it 'cause you want to do horsing around."

"No, nothing like that. We won't be horsing around. It's just..." He struggled to find the words. "We might get, you know, stuck, and we might need to you come and get us."

"Well, I ain't dialling 9-1-1. You guys aren't supposed to be here, but I reckon I can come and help."

"Great!"

"Help's extra. Say another ten bucks?" The guard held out his hand, and a mercenary smile came over his face.

"Jeez," Wayne said. "You're a real humanitarian. Okay." He withdrew another crumpled note, and handed it over – this time without straightening it out. "Are we cool now?"

The man stuffed it in his pocket. "We're cool. Have fun, boys!"

Over by the lift, Todd seemed to have second thoughts.

"Hey, I'm nervous man. That girl back in England disappeared. You know, kind of like permanently!"

"Hey, look, it's no biggie! She's been gone a couple of days, dammit. Why, are you chicken?" Wayne started making the clucking noises that one associates with an accusation of cowardice, just as Michelle and Gerry had done across the Atlantic two days previously, though not so loudly that the guard, now back at his desk thirty yards behind them, would hear.