Johnny walked along with the two lawyers that led his way in
a march paced step through mazes of hallways just behind them as the width of
the hallways weren’t big enough for three people to walk side by side. He was trying
to hide his elation on the events that just occurred. He couldn’t have played
it better he thought and now his prize for his performance was just steps away.
He kept feeling a smile working
its way onto his face and he struggled to make that into a sorrowful look with his
face contorting into a grimace instead.
Once in a while as they walked along one of the two lawyers
would take a glance back at him he thought to make sure he was still behind
them. As each lawyer took their
turn looking back he thought that they almost looked exactly alike. Each of the
lawyers’ faces were drawn and tired looking and both looked older than they
probably were but the one on his left he thought was a little bit older. He felt superior to them as clearly
their life was filled with work and toil and this was the life he was successful
at avoiding and what made him superior and divine.
Finally they entered a stairwell and began climbing upward.
“Why aren’t you taking me in the
elevator?! After all I have been through here why are you making me climb
stairs?!” Johnny was infuriated and he began losing more and more control
each upward step he climbed screaming on “I
am a victim! Is this how you treat victims here?!” but the lawyers ignored
his ranting and kept climbing upward still taking the occasional look back at
Johnny but never responding to him their faces void of emotion that Johnny
could see. Finally they burst through a door and continued walking as Johnny
continued behind them continuing his ranting as he followed the two men into a
large office. A third man who was large and burly but dressed in a suit
impeccably was already sitting at the desk. “What is this?!” Johnny screamed “Don’t you take me for a fool here you hear me?! You better be prepared
to do me right now or you will be sorry!”
The man sitting at the desk motioned his hand forward
towards one of the chairs that sat across from his large desk and so quietly
Johnny wasn’t sure he heard it he told him to sit down. The two lawyers that
led him here were both sitting in chairs to the right of the large desk and
away from Johnny but their eyes stayed focused on him. The man at the desk then
spun a computer screen around and on it Johnny saw his own image multiplied on
the screen as pictures in different locations of his walk to this office. ‘Do
you get it asshole?” the man said.
The man started talking on but Johnny didn’t hear a word of what he said
because as he looked at the screen before him he saw his smiling grimacing face
again and again. Confusion swept over him as he brought his hands to the sides
of his head pressing and drawing them downward against his skin trying to end
the images. Johnny’s sense of
being turned to flight and he was about to try to escape out of the office in a
mad dash that was only stopped by the man behind the desk pushing a document towards
Johnny.
Johnny looked at it and noticed the words “Settlement
Document” typed boldly at the top.
He grabbed it clutching it with both hands so fiercely that it edges
curled while he began reading feverishly.
Johnny eased back in his chair as he saw that they were still willing to
pay him $5000 just to go away. “I also want my music played on your station for
at least a month!” Johnny said with confidence. The man didn’t let him finish
his sentence before he began telling Johnny that the offer made is all there is
and he can either take it or leave it. Johnny sat staring at the man his eyes
locked with his as he assessed his chances of getting more. The man kept his
stare on Johnny and Johnny realized he should take this deal and run. ‘You will
be paying me now correct?” he said
his tone of arrogance returning and comforting him as he signed off on the
document. As soon as Johnny looked
up he saw the man writing a check out. “I prefer cash” Johnny muttered. “Well
that isn’t happening!” The man said as he grabbed the signed settlement
document and pushed the check for $5000 towards Johnny. As soon as that
occurred the two lawyers who led him to this man rose up from their chairs and
stood next to Johnny’s chair as the man behind the desk muttered, “You can go
now.” Johnny wasn’t so sure these were lawyers anymore and he wondered what
they really were. They surely couldn’t be security at their ages Johnny
thought.
Johnny got up exited the office and began walking out ahead
of the two men when suddenly he felt them each grab one of his arms on either
side and they began leading him out on another path that Johnny realized
quickly was a short path to exit of the building. “Those bastards played me!” he thought angrily as they led him out
the door almost shoving him into the street as Johnny clutched his check in his
small hand so tightly he thought the ink might smear.
Once the men were gone Johnny felt relief and was happy it
had went so well that he got $5000 on the same day he did his job. He thought
that Tatiana would be so pleased with him even though she had this scam played
out for $20,000 plus airplay given Brian’s threats at criminal prosecution he
knew he had pulled it off in the end and now they were all safe again. He knew that
this would get him back in her favor and he began running to tell her though
Tatiana’s house was too far to run or even walk to. By the time he reached the
house it was late at night and all the lights in the house were off with
Rooskie’s van nowhere in sight. Johnny was tired and though he didn’t want to
go into the house he didn’t want to go all the way back to Tara’s house. He walked up the small concrete steps
to the back door and realized the door was locked. Johnny began panicking because he was so tired and exhausted
and breaking into Tatiana’s house was not something he even had the energy to
do or the guts to do at this point. Sure he had success in the end and $5000 in
his pocket but he knew that Rooskie had it out for him and Tatiana’s last
meeting with him as more than rough and they didn’t yet know he had worked it
all out.
He looked behind him towards the tree in the backyard and
decided to lay down far behind the tree on the grass where he could sleep
hidden until Tatiana either returned or the sun was up. It only took him
seconds to fall asleep once he lied down on the dewy grass.
