2.a.v
“I do not
steal!” the manager yelled. “I worked
very hard to get where I’m at. I’ve got
a family to support and… and–”
“A lifestyle
to maintain?” Mr. Jones said.
“That’s not
fair!”
“To you or the
laborers beneath you trying to eek out an existence?”
“Stop it!” the
manager shouted.
Mr. Jones set
his hand on the manager’s shoulder and said, “I know you worked hard and
probably made a lot of sacrifices.”
“I have. I really have,” the manager said, his voice
wavering on the edge of cracking.
“Worked too hard. She always said
I worked too hard. Now I’ve got alimony
instead of a family.”
“That doesn’t
give you the right to exploit these people,” Tanya said. “No matter what this horrible company will
allow.”
“And it’s not
too late to change,” said Mr. Jones.
“You could be a stand up guy. A
hero to your employees instead of a villain.”
“I… I want to be the good guy,” the manager said.
“We can
help. What’s your name, son?” Mr. Jones
asked.
For a moment
the manager could not recall. When he
did answer, the response was more of a question.
“It’s Matt.”
The he
repeated his name with more conviction, “Matt.”
“Well, Matt,
it’s good to meet–” But Mr. Jones stopped.
The little button on Matt the Manager’s vest, the one proclaiming “America ’s
Super Store,” was flashing back and forth between blue and red.
“Uh… Tanya?”
“I see it,”
she said. “Looks like someone’s been
monitoring poor Matt and didn’t like what they heard.”
“Oh no. This is bad, isn’t it?” Matt the Manager
said. “Why’s it doing that? Why’s this stupid button blinking?”
The sound of a
helicopter, faint at first, grew gradually louder until it landed on the
roof. A few moments after the rotors
went silent two burley men in white, short-sleeved shirts with pale blue ties
came walking toward Matt the Manager.
They wore mirrored sunglasses and coarse black hair sprouted from their
swollen forearms.
“Sir, you need
to come with us,” one of them said. The
other glanced around and fingered his earpiece.
“What? Where?” Matt the Manager said.
“The CEO is in
the upstairs office. He’d like to see
you.”
“That was
fast,” said Tanya.
“He’s here?”
Matt the Manager asked.
“I believe
that was the implication of my previous statement,” the man said.