5.z.
Franklin Buck
raced to Corporate Man’s side, hunching low in the ever constricting
space. Fair Wage had regained his
footing and was helping Senior Executive stand.
“We’ve got to
get out of here,” Franklin Buck said, slap-tapping Corporate Man’s face. “Inflation's out cold so there’s no one to
stop it.”
Corporate Man
rolled onto his knees and pressed his fingers into his temples, eyes
squinting.
“Report!” he
called out.
“Demand is
still secure and Supply has already shaken off the attack. Their size ratios are equalizing,” said
Business Woman. “Fair Wage and Senior
Executive seem viable.”
“I need an
exit,” said Corporate Man.
“It’s that
way,” Fair Wage said, pointing off into the flickering darkness. “It’s quite far.”
“Then let’s
move,” Corporate Man said.
The Union
lumbered off. Fair Wage and Corporate
Man each grabbed a corner of Professor Inflation’s cape and dragged the limp
form.
It wasn’t long
before they were forced to their hands and knees in the shrinking space.
“We’re not
going to make it unless we lose the professor,” said Fair Wage, the floor
pressing his back up against the ceiling.
Corporate Man did not hesitate and released his grip on Professor
Inflation’s cape.
“Where is it,
Fair Wage?” Franklin Buck called out. He
was well ahead of all the others. “I’m
at the corner of the room and there’s no ex–”
The floor fell
away beneath him and Franklin Buck tumbled away into the darkness. He screamed.
The sound was deafening in the cramped space.
“What just
happened?” Corporate Man yelled.
“Franklin . He disappeared. Dropped through the floor,” said Business
Woman.
“Into the
sharks?”
“I don’t
know. Maybe. Wait.
I hear him. He says it’s
okay. We’re going in after him,” she
said. Business Woman, Supply, and Demand
rolled into the void in the floor.
Senior Executive dropped in right behind them.
Corporate and
Fair Wage were on their stomachs, army crawling, the floor still pressing
upward, about to crush them into the ceiling.
They felt pressure on their chests and on their backs, friction now
hindering their movements.
Then they
toppled into the shaft and landed on something soft and spongy.
“Did everyone
make it?” Corporate Man asked.
“Yeah, I think
we’re all accounted for,” said Senior Executive. “But where are we?”
A seam of
light pierced the darkness as Fair Wage opened a door embedded in one of the
walls. The Union
crept through opening, careful and cautious, and found themselves in a
reception area.
“Good morning,
and welcome to the offices of Incorporated Business Corporate Incorporated. Section Thirteen here at Jacob
Center Tower
They
froze.
Most of the Union
held their breath.
Betty didn’t
seem to notice the awkward pause, nor did she seem eager to sprout blades from
her fingers and attack. Corporate Man
finally took a breath and approached the desk.
“Well, Betty,
we’re all finished here but they said we were needed upstairs. Would you advise us where to go next?”
Betty smiled
and said, “I suggest you take the elevator.”
She gestured
toward a set of doors opposite here desk.
Corporate Man, expecting to see the entrance to a stairwell, was
surprised by the elevator doors. He
thanked Betty and pushed the button marked with the upward pointing arrow. The doors slid open and a man in a long
trench coat flinched, his eyes flaring wide.
His hand flashed inside his coat and he shoved an odd, square barreled
gun against Corporate Man’s chest.
