A Mind To Kill The Average Joe

Best of friends/'Adjusting'

They had both arrived at the bunker. Christopher and Carnelian shared a room fo r the time being. When Christopher woke up, he was confused. He didn't know why the girl was there with him and it showed on his face. The new setting should have freaked him out since it was completely plane, somewhat undistinguishable or gave him any idea to where he is. Carnelian was calm. She expected the situation had arise from her unorthodox deactivation in the car and position upon being recommissioned. She assumed that she was brought here to 'fix' the problem so she tried to sustain her rational outlook on it to avoid the need or rather, attempt to escape. Frank came in.

"Shawn...?"Christopher uttered as Frank tugged him into a small, enclosed room with no windows, poor lighting and two fold-up chairs. "What's happening right now buddy?" Christopher choked, tied up and nervous. Frank propped him up on a chair and sat face to face with him. "I know you're not really gonna let anything happen, right? You're just playing along until you see that it's clear to escape..." he said hopefully, "...then, I really shouldn't have said that out loud then...? I won't sell you out. I can keep my mouth shut."

"Relax Chris." Frank said stone faced. "We're going to cooperate now. Say what you wanna say, then leave."

"Shawn?..." Christopher said, wide eyed and in a less confident tone with a forced smile as the doubt settled in.

                                *

"Robert! What the hell Boy?" Danish spoke, referring to their shift chart. "This whole month, you..." he pointed at his chest retaining full eye contact, "free." 

"Chill man, this is preordain." Robert said in defense, gesturing his hands up in surrender to please Danish's dramatic tendency, "My life's calling me..." he said feeling the statement as too weird to say out loud in real life, "...my jobs calling me."

"Oh...has it been that long already?" Danish said backing down and a little ashamed, "I thought you were pulling a prank on me or something."

"No Bro. The only thing in ink on the paper, are the dates." he said referring to the pocket note book they used to catalogue everyone's movements being written in invisible ink. "I keep suggesting f, 'hang a white-board' to show everyone's shift's and erase what we officially recorded that day, or something."

"Na. That's not the problem. I just lost track of time." Danish responded in a clammer voice. He lightened the mood suggesting, "Frank brought a punching bag, wanna go try it out?"

"Sure", Robert said with a faint smile. He initiated a conversation exiting the resource room knowing full well that Frank would get the file he requested more later than expected, "You won't believe the craziness some asshole pulled on the freeway."

Robert had to get a file for Frank. It was currently being digitized by 'Doctor Howard'. Robert thought he'd wait for him to finish and collect it later before he torched it as procedure, since they weren't in a hurry. Besides, they were low staffed and Betty would have snatched it before Howard could notice because she was supervising him, also as procedure. Howard should be finished in time for Frank, presumably.

                                  *

"Chris, how do you know about the codename Joe?" Frank asked Christopher with the threat of  electrocution.

"Well, obviously someone doesn't like me that much." he responded tired and unaware of the new pains of the day. "Guhahhah!" Christopher responded as his body spasmed the chair he was confined to, a few millimeters out of place. "You sure that's not the highest setting Shawn?"

"I could set it a little lower if you'd like." Frank proposed turning the dial. "How do you know about the codename Joe?"

Christopher was confused and in pain. These interactions were slowly making him physically sick. And then there were these little gestures and caring considerations about how he was feeling. He deduced that they were being watched in some way and that all he needed to do was give them the answer that they wanted. He trusted that his friend was looking out for him. Most of all, believed that Joe was pulling the strings on all of this. "I met some rich and powerful people celebrating with  new investors. I over stepped and now I can't sell in New York anymore. An- Ow!"

"Does that feel better?", Frank asked.

"Still a bit tingly but an improvement." Christopher said a bit irritated and withholding anger. "It connects. I swear. Just let me finish...So I got a chance to 'work with them' last year and I didn't take the offer. I don't think anybody died over it, but the last conversation I had with them was about the guy, 'codename Joe'."

Frank zapped him again. He kept it short and that was enough. "What exactly did they tell you?"

"They said that they hired an assassin to kill me, and that when it was all over, they'd seize all  my assets and leave my family with no more than a penny." He was zapped again. "Ahh-Ookay. It's the truth! I swear man!"

                                  *

There was a knock on the cell door. Robert would have said something to catch Joe's attention, but he was working in progress. Joe was sweaty with messed up hair. Most of this clothes were undone or loose, to make him more comfortable to move freely. He was wearing boxing gloves and started walking over to the two while taking it off. He stood in front of them and took a good look at their dorky physique. Then tossed one side to each of them and scribbled questions onto a piece of paper. He whispered before leaving, "Go easy on him."

Christopher was hanging from a hook on the sealing like a side of beef in a meat locker. The men stood round him and took turns punching him as if it were a game of tetherball until they heard the 'ding' of an egg timer to signal a break from his torture. They both left the room and Christopher was again rejoined by Joe a few minutes later, this time, with a clear reason to take out his anger.

"Aren't you those... environmentalist?" Danish asked Robert, finding some humor in the 'save the planet' agenda after withnessing him punch a guy red.

"Yes..." he responded feeling dehydrated and out of breath. A thought popped into his head. "We could have switched gloves..." he referred assuming the shared exhaustion of their arm muscles branching to their upper torso.

 "Na. I think this is a sign tellin' us to start working out." Danish suggested. "Or maybe we should have done some stretches before we started."

"Well I'm as fit as a Horse." Robert playfully stated in a failed attempt to flex both his arms. "Ow...That was stupid of me."                               

They both chuckled with the risk of pain.

"I heard that diet has something to do with it too." Danish recalled.

"Oh go chew on a carrot with your fictional gym membership." Robert said rolling his eyes with a hint of insecurity about his weight.