Definitely Not Your Typical Work Day

The morning started out just like any other. I finally got out of bed after pressing snooze on the alarm clock 4 or 5 times. Moping into the bathroom I shaved, showered and dressed for the day. I always found it hard to end those warm morning showers so quickly. The sooner you end the shower, the sooner you'll be at work watching the clock for the end of the day. Breakfast was next and to start making the all important cup of coffee. I always want to make a nice big breakfast in the morning but pressing the snooze button 5 times always leaves me without any time. So, like always, I resorted to a bagel and cream cheese which I ate before the coffee was finished brewing. As I brushed my teeth I gave myself a quick going over to make sure there was no shaving cream on my face and everything looked presentable. I went to the kitchen to pour my coffee. I always pour a travel mug and a backup thermos to get me through the morning.

During the grueling drive to work I had just managed to hear the end of a news broadcast about a bank robbery the day before as I was flipping through the stations. "The suspects made off with approximately 10.2 million..." the news anchor announced. That's funny, I thought as the anchor carried on to the weather for the weekend, It didn't seem like that much in the bag.

The robbery was all everybody was talking about at work. I could hear little comments here and there as I made my way to my cubicle at the back of the room. "I heard they shot the guard in the leg", one person was saying to a few others at the photocopier. "Oh really? I heard he got it in the shoulder", one of the others replied.

It's weird how stories like that get carried away so quickly. How could anyone have gotten shot if there wasn't even a gun.

I sat at my desk and before I could take my first sip of coffee my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket and there was a text from Mike. I hope everything is okay, I thought as I opened the text. We had done this a few times before but never so close to home.

"Meet me at the spot in 30 min. They got Sean!!" the text read.

"Fuck," I muttered a little too loud as I replied to the text with a simple "K."

"Everything okay?" asked Frank, the asshole that I shared the cubicle with. I actually shared the cubicle with fifteen other people. Sadly, there were only five computers between us and if there wasn't anything to do for the day things could get a little frustrating just sitting there waiting for the day to end.

"Everything's fine," I replied. "I just have to run back to my house really quickly. My neighbor just texted and said there was water coming out from under my door that she noticed as she was taking her morning walk. Maybe the dishwasher is broken or something." I always found it was better to give a real sounding reason if your going to lie rather than just say, "I have to do something," or, "I'll be right back." It doesn't seem as suspicious that way.

On my way back through the cubicles I noticed everyone had stopped talking about the robbery. And I had the strange feeling everyone was starring at me as I walked by. As I opened the door to leave the main office and head down the stairs I noticed two police officers talking to the receptionist at the front desk just down the hall. She turned and pointed right at me just as I ducked through the door leading down the back stairs. Hopefully they didn't recognize me and she was just pointing towards the office, I thought as I headed down the stairs. That would give me a few minutes to get out of the building with a little bit of a head start.

Once in my car I tried not to be too heavy on the gas as I weaved through the parking lot to the exit. Stopping at the stop sign I noticed another cop car just down the street to my right. Looks like I'll be going left. The radio was talking about the robbery again. "One suspect is in custody and two more are believed to be on the run," announced a different anchor than the one from the drive in. Shit!

I managed to get out of the area without any more close calls. Travelling down the highway gave me a little time to clear my head and think of my next move. I had a bag stashed at "the spot" that I could just grab and disappear without too much trouble but where would I go. No time to worry about that now, just get out of town and figure out the next step later, I was thinking as I pulled into the parking lot of "the spot".

Just as I turned off the car my phone exploded with vibrations from some more texts. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and my heart jumped into my throat as I scanned the words;

"It's Sean."

"They got Mike at the spot."

"I escaped."

"Don't go to the spot it's compromised."

"I have your bag. It's safe."

At that moment, numerous police cars flooded in from every direction and I remember there was something being said to me through a megaphone but I couldn't tell you what it was. All I was thinking about was the fact that I hadn't gotten to take even one sip of my coffee.