Life and Times of a Keyboard Warrior

Intruder at work

15
20th of February.
Markus

I push through the heavy door of The Office and yell out "Hey Fraser, ready for swap-over?"

"I'm always ready for knock-off time, Kennedy, you know that." The muffled reply comes from down the corridor. I swagger down the hall, and bang on the large metal door. It opens with a loud clang.

My co-worker Fraser grins up at me. The light from the multiple cameras illuminates him from below, making him seem rather eerie.

"How's it been?" I ask, dropping my bag down beneath my console and sitting down.

"A quiet evening, to say the least." Fraser replies.

"You know those creepy robot animal mascots in that restaurant on the third floor, they managed to fix those, right?" I ask no one in particular, just thinking aloud.

"Nah mate. That company is full of stingy bastards, they barely make enough profit to pay for our cameras." Fraser leans back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Damn, I hate watching those monitors." I groan. Fraser mutters an agreement.

"I'm real beat, Kennedy. I'm going home." Fraser slowly stands up, grabs his bag and walks out the door.

"Not even a goodbye or goodnight, mate?" I call cheekily down the hall after him.

"Lock that door, Kennedy. See you tomorrow night." The faint reply comes.

I wander back to my desk and hit the door switch. The heavy steel door drops, and locks electromagnetically. Why we need such a strong door is beyond my pay-grade.

Slowly I begin checking each monitor, panning left and right and watching for things out of the ordinary. The life of a Nightwatchman is a boring one, but at least it pays well.

An hour passes, and I'm once again struggling to stay awake. "Next time, being coffee." I mumble to myself, then there's a loud whack as my head hits the keyboard in front of me.

"Son of a bitch." I moan, then i decide it's patrol time. That'll hopefully wake me up. I hop up and move over to my locker. I don't usually lock it, so I just pull it open and that's that. I reach in and pull out my arsenal. Lock and load.

My boots squeak on the tiles, and the echo is almost deafening. Weak moonlight filters through the skylight, but my torch's beam quickly drowns it out. I've been on this job nearly two years, but that feeling of surreal quiet in a place usually so packed with noises and people still gives my the chills. It's not right, it's like an abandoned hospital or school, you get an instant bad feeling about the place.

I make the rounds, swinging my torchlight from storefront to storefront. I'm about to go back to the security room when I hear it. There's someone else here. My light flickers off.

I grab at my belt, and my hand rests naturally on the holster for my Glock. All the security guards have them, but they aren't real bullets, which is good for whoever we are firing at. It's more like rubber, meant to sting so hard that you can't really move. It's effective too. I force my hand on though, and I instead grab my telescopic nightstick.

The sound hits me again. Someone is trying to wrench open the door on a store close by. I move slowly along the storefronts, using the weak moonlight to guide me. I stop, trying best to assess the sound and it's direction. Luckily my dad taught me all I needed to know, my education on this stuff is second only to a real SAS soldier.

"Damnit" a soft voice says, and I manage to pinpoint it's location. Two stores in front of me, on the left. I put my nightstick back, and grab my Glock. I don't wanna have to belt anyone today, but shooting is always a blast. I creep closer.

When I'm about a meter away, I suddenly jump up and hit my light, illuminating the trespasser. I pull back the hammer on my pistol. "Freeze, Security." I roar, the echo adding to the menace in my voice.

From what I can gauge, they are wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, and black tracksuit pants with dark boots. Dunno if it's a girl or boy, but they aren't very tall. They stand up slowly, but before I can get a good look, they make a dash for it. I sprint after them, yelling at them the whole way. They don't stop.

I groan, regretting having to do this, and then I reach down and hit a button on my belt. Suddenly, the entire centre comes to life. Lights come to life, red sirens begin to blare and the alarm goes off. Best of all, metal shutters begin closing on all the exits, trapping the intruder until the cops arrive.

Apparently, despite my long legs, this damn criminal is managing to outrun me. They're already nearly at the damn door, and the metal security shutters aren't even halfway closed. I suddenly stop, and brace myself. My Glock comes up, and I fire once.

The shot clips the intruder on the shoulder. they scream loudly and they crash to the ground, the jumper hood slipping down and revealing a long blond braid.
"It's a girl, far out." I mutter, and I begin running again.

"Stay the fuck down!" I bellow at the girl. She turns and looks at me with fear-filled eyes. Blue eyes. A black bandanna masks her mouth. At the site of how close I am, she begins to scramble upwards again, and manages to get to the glass doors before the shutters go down.

I fire off a few more shots, hoping to incapacitate her or at least slow her escape, but suddenly she rears back and punches through the glass door, then jumps through it. I only manage to catch a last fleeting glimpse of her sprinting along the empty parking lot before the metal shutters roll to a complete close.