He clicked the compile button with the mouse and immediately his computer sounded off with the usual annoying beep. "Fuck." he muttered under his breath. He was getting infuriated trying to make the program work using a new programming language his firm developed. Even the compiler program which puts everything into order seemed to be against him. What was more annoying is the program wouldn't tell him where the issue in the code was present. The technicians assured him the particular feature would be available in the next update. Anger was swelling up within him to the point of tossing the mouse through the screen of the monitor flashing its little red icon of an error message.
Jason DeLance sat back in his office chair trying to center himself. He thought this new compiler and programming language was a joke. Unfortunately, it's what the client wanted. Greg Carson was paying good money for this software to be completed using this new language in a compiler that seems more riddled with flaws than benefits. Jason's firm assigned the task to him as the more experienced developer. It was a project he knew in his heart he could handle. After all, he was the best programmer in the region, according to the accolades and awards proudly presented on his office shelves.
He took his glasses off and rubbed his burning eyes. Jason had been staring at the computer screen for several hours trying to track down the so-called error the compiler insisted was present. The office itself had grown dark as the sun had set several hours before. Only the light from his monitor and the flashing green indicator of his wall-mounted security camera prevailed in the darkness. He glanced at the corner of his monitor's display at the clock. The digital display read eleven-forty-three, and it was well past his normal bedtime. Putting his glasses back on, he clicked the save button. It was a pain to transport the files back and forth on a USB drive, but the company wanted isolated computers working on the software. After all, a computer not connected to a network is far less likely to be hacked.
Standing up from the chair, Jason's knees popped simultaneously. His back was sore and his neck was tense. At first, he thought age was creeping upon him. He just turned forty-five a few months ago, and his body was reminding him the years were starting to catch up. As his muscles seemed to scream in agony, Jason was convinced stress was adding to his issues. He made his way over to the minibar lining the side of his office. Tapping a switch on the wall, the lights of the countertop came to life. He needed something strong to wash down the frustration of the inadequate program and reached for the scotch.
Sipping from his glass, Jason glanced around the dimly lit room. It was a shrine to his ability for developing software. Plaques, trophies, certificates and more filled the walls as a testament to how good he was. Throwing a glance back at his monitor, he mumbled, "And it all comes crashing down because of a piece of shit program." He gulped the last swallow of scotch and slammed the glass down to the point where he immediately thought he broke it. Tapping the light switch for the bar, he left the room and made his way to an empty bed. Jason was rolling up on the 50-year old mark and still slept alone. Then again, he had no desire to find love outside of his computer. Still, he often imagined what it would be like to snuggle up to a warm body at night. As he pulled the sheets over himself, he whispered to the dark,
"Maybe I'll get a cat."
Every other morning, several guys from Cellcorp, the company Jason worked for, gathered to play a quick game of basketball. Most of them found it helpful to get the blood pumping before work as it helped with focus and concentration. Being in as good of shape as Jason was, he often played with them, even though they were all 15 to 20 years younger. In Cellcorp, Jason was often referred to as, "Old Man."
David, one of the younger members of Cellcorp, had as much energy in the office as he did on the court. While his skill wasn't as nearly as defined as Jason's, he made up for it in enthusiasm.
"Did you hear than Moran Industries is slowly replacing their older programmers with newer and fresher talent?" David said with a smile at Jason. It was common for David to try and shake Jason's concentration when playing basketball. Most of the time it was more fun, but today it hit a little harder than usual.
"More like Moron Industries." Jason quipped dribbling the ball. Jason made his way through open court and was preparing to take a shot when one of the other guys called out, "How's the Carson Project coming along!" That was the comment that broke his focus. The ball sailed over the backboard and out of bounds. Jason put his hands on his hips and looked down trying to choke back his anger. He was catching his breath and trying to keep his cool as memories of the night before flooded his mind quickly. He was building up an incredible amount of stress that nothing seemed to quell. With how things were progressing, there was no way Jason was going to meet the expected deadline to finish the project.
He sat back in the plush leather chair of his Cellcorp office. Being one of the most valuable developers for the company landed Jason all kinds of perks. A large, fifth-story office with a bay window overlooking the most beautiful scenery in town was one of them. Just as He was sliding up to his desk to continue battling the hell-spawn program, Mitch appeared in his doorway.
Mitchell Durant was the project director of Cellcorp. He was a tall, lanky man with short dark hair and a fair complexion. Mitch was also the only one aside from the CEO himself who outranked Jason in terms of seniority and unofficial power among peers. On that day, he was adorning his fancy, light-gray Italian suit, which meant he was in a serious meeting.
"How's it going, Jason?" Mitch asked walking into the office. He took a seat in front of Jason's desk and crossed his legs. The only time Mitch comes in to talk to him is when there's bad news to deliver.
"It's going. The program is a bit more...complex...but the team and I are making our way through it."
"Good. Carson was asking about it this morning and I assured him I had the best man working on it." the grin Mitch tossed at Jason made the programmer uneasy. Something was wrong, and Jason knew that Mitch knew he wasn't going to like it.
"I'm going to bring in a little bit of help for you." Jason raised an eyebrow. Never in all of his years of developing software did he need assistance in a project he was working on.
"Help?" Jason asked sitting back in his chair.
"Well, think of him as more of an assistant. I want him to learn the trade, learn from the best. And you, my friend, are it."
"My team and I are getting everything under control. If it's time you're worried about..."
"Nonsense. Don't worry about the timetable. I just want you to show this new kid how everything works and break him in." Mitch was doing an obvious job of trying to be cordial. The tone in his voice and even his body language were carefully planned to keep Jason from getting enraged.
"Fine." Jason said in a low breath.
"Jeremy, come on in!" Mitch called back through the door. In walked this young man, had to be barely out of college, holding the company orientation binder. Jason had to hold back a chuckle. In his mind, this kid had "dork" written all over him. Thick, horned-rim glasses, slicked-back hair and a striped shirt with suspenders were all that Jason could really see of the boy. All he was missing was a pocket protector. "This is Jeremy Hansel. He just graduated college and is eager to start working with you on the Carson project."
"Nice to meet you." Jeremy said walking across the office holding out his hand. Jason shook the kid's hand and added a bit of strength behind it to subtly demonstrate authority. Jason didn't respond other than the handshake and simply gave the young man a glare.
"Well, Jeremy, let me show you where your office will be." Mitch said trying to interrupt the awkward silence.
"Office?" Jason asked. It wasn't customary to give new-hires an office space, especially if they were hired as developers. Cellcorp had what was called a "bull pit." In this area, the desks were set up in an open atmosphere where employees were encouraged to bounce ideas off one another. An office space was usually reserved for upper management.
"Yes. We have plans for this young man. He's simply more than just a developer." Jason reached to turn on his computer staring intently at the doorway. Negative thoughts began flooding into his mind about how Cellcorp was trying to replace him. They can't replace him...he's the best they have on staff.
Later that day, Jason stormed into Mitch's office and abruptly shut the door behind him. Hours of stewing about being replaced had driven him to the boiling point.
"What can I do for you, Jason?" Mitch asked letting out a sigh. He already knew what was about to transpire and began concentrating on keeping himself cool and collected.
"This is my team and I say who is going to contribute. You brought in some teenager off the street and threw him into my project without consulting me first." Jason said raising his voice to just under a shout.
"You're forgetting who's business this is. The owner can add anyone he feels is right for the position. This young man had demonstrated an incredible skill and we wanted him before some other company picked him up." Mitch replied sitting back a bit. He wanted to be outside of the range of Jason's fist in case things turned ugly.
"You have no idea who you're speaking with, do you? Do you have any idea the amount of money I've made for the companies I've worked for? Or should I go ahead and take my resume to Hillmont Development? I'm sure they're looking for superior talent."
"You could, but then you'd be in breach of your contract, my friend." Mitch replied still maintaining as pleasant of a tone as possible. There was a moment of silence as each considered what they had said to one another. After a few seconds, Mitch stood from his desk and calmly walked over to Jason.
"Relax, it's not like he's replacing you. He's a good kid with incredible potential. He'll make you look good, your team look good, and the company look good." Mitch placed a friendly hand on Jason's shoulder and began to usher him out of the office. "Besides, he might have some ideas on how to approach the system. Sometimes a fresh of pair eyes can do wonders."
"This is bull shit." Jason muttered.
"Let's take a breath and see what unfolds, eh? You're still the boss. If it helps, think of him as your secretary, only without the skirt and nice legs." Mitch said in a jovial tone. There was something about Mitch's voice that seemed to defuse Jason when he got upset. The joke about the legs brought a bit of a smile to Jason's face and he began to relax. As Mitch shut the door behind Jason, he let out a breath. It was outbursts like this that made it difficult to work with Jason. Unfortunately, the contract he mentioned earlier was ironclad and made it difficult to force Jason out of the company without paying handsomely for the effort.
Later that night, Jason laid in bed. His sheets were a mess as he wriggled and writhed from the images going through his head while he slept. It was a series of imagery, both real and imagined. Although it was a dream, it all seemed very real to him. First, Jeremy took the completed program to Mitch and told him how much of a failure Jason was. Then, the images jumped immediately to Jason trying to find a job. But no one would hire him and every door slammed into his face. The surroundings melted into some kind of dense fog when his father appeared. The man's been dead for a decade, but here he was just like he had been standing before his stroke.
"You're a failure, Jay." the elderly man said tossing a basketball to Jason. "You tossed aside your one chance at true love to play around with your computers and now you can't even get a job."
"Why did you leave me?" said a familiar voice from behind him. It was Janice. She was an attractive woman with blood-red hair and green eyes that peered into his soul. She, too, tossed a basketball at him. "He's going to take your job, you know. And if I was still around, he would definitely take me as well." she said with a chuckle.
"Will you both just fuck the hell off?" Jason screamed dropping to his knees.
"Thanks for the job." Jeremy said appearing in front of him. Janice draped across his shoulder and nibbling on the ear of the young programmer. "Thanks for everything, really." Jeremy lifted his hand to reveal he was holding Jason's pistol own pistol he kept in a concealed holster in the glove box of his car.
"How did you get that?" Jason said getting to his feet to run.
"It's always been mine. Everything of yours is mine." Jeremy pulled the trigger. A loud bang and a bright light is all Jason experienced.
He woke up in a puddle of his own sweat. The sheets were soaked and disheveled. Jason could feel the speed in which his heart was pounding in addition to hearing the thud it made in his ears. He laid back down and took a deep breath. The clock on the wall read three-fifteen.
"Holy shit." Jason whispered to himself.
Walking into the office, Jason was still trying to shake the anxiety from the night before. Everything about the dream felt and sounded as real as anything else. Not even the exertion from playing basketball with the guys was able to calm him. Not this time. He opened the door to his office and was greeted with a site that made his pulse race once again. There, Jeremy was sitting at a desk inside Jason's office. He began to grind his teeth with anger as he spun around and began to storm towards Mitch's office with demonic speed.
"Where the hell is Mitch?" he asked the director's secretary.
"He had a meeting first thing this morning." she replied.
"Figures. Chicken shit." Jason said marching back to this office. There was really nothing he could do until Mitch came back. Walking into his office, he slammed the door behind him. It made such a loud bang that it grabbed everyone's attention. For a brief moment, everyone stopped working to figure out what it was.
"I'm really sorry, man. This wasn't my idea." Jeremy assured with a meek voice.
"It's not your fucking fault we have an asshole for a boss." Jason said dropping himself into his chair with enough force to cause it to retract its hydraulics slightly. Putting a hand to the side of him and lifting the lever, he pulled the office chair back up to its original position. All of this without taking his eyes off of Jeremy. "I suppose let's get to work."
A few hours had past without either of the men speaking. Both were hammering away at their prospective keyboards. As Jeremy apparently had his own copy of the new compiler, he was hard at work trying to figure out the same problems Jason was having. A smirk swept across the older programmer's face as he realized the new boy was about to experience one of the most frustrating elements of this job. This program was junk, and he'd soon learn this.
"So, do you have any family?" Jeremy asked trying to break away from hearing more than the click of keys being pressed.
"Not anymore." Jason replied with a cold tone.
"That's a bummer. Did you know your family well?"
"That's a bit of a stupid question, don't you think?" His tone was more sarcastic as his patience was already wearing thin with the new kid.
"Well, not really. I mean, my dad skipped out on us when I was a baby. So I never really knew him. And my mother died just before she could see me graduate." Jason sat back and thought to himself,
Like sands through the hourglass...
"It happens, I guess." he responded. Being a bit more relaxed than he was that morning, he added, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Nope. Just me. I tell ya, Christmas kind of sucks when you have no one to share it with." the young man said with a jovial tone. Jason looked up from his monitor to see the young man. For a moment, he felt sorry that anyone should go through life without any family to speak of.
Maybe I'm being too hard on the kid.
Maybe I need to relax a bit more and do as Mitch suggested.
"I did it! I fixed the code you were working on!" Jeremy burst out with excitement.
Maybe I should hit him with a nine iron.
Jason got up and walked around the desks to see Jeremy's monitor. His adrenaline was beginning to course through his veins as he was both excited and angry that the new kid figured out the problem after less than a day. "Show me." he said hovering over the boy's shoulder. The compiler reported that the coding was successful and no problems were found. Even running a small section of the code displayed exactly what that particular part of the program was supposed to do. Jason returned to his desk and sat back in his chair glaring at the young man.
"Good job." he said without emotion. His eyes didn't blink as he stared intently into Jeremy's eyes.
You're not getting my job, you prepubescent little fuck.
By the end of the day, Jeremy had made more headway in the project than Jason did over the past two weeks. It was like some supernatural force had empowered this new boy into knowing exactly what to look for and how to fix it. If Jason was a spiritual man, he would have called Jeremy "blessed." Instead, the aging programmer looked on at the new face of development with disdain. As the clock finally approached quitting time, Jeremy stood up and started collecting his things into his backpack.
"I have some more ideas if you'd like to see them." he said zipping up the rough and dilapidated blue bag.
"Sure. Why not come around tonight at my place. I'll even order some pizza." Jason responded with a wide grin. Jeremy nodded with a smile of his own and walked out the office door. As soon as the young man left the room, the smile melted from Jason's face. He really didn't want to spend the evening with Jeremy, but this project needed to be done. Besides, Jason thought if he played his cards right, he might be able to grab more of the credit from this inexperienced programmer.
The office lights were starting to dim as Jake the janitor started turning off non-essential items. The cleaning staff really didn't need the entire floor lit. As Jason started making his way to the elevator, he saw Jeremy speaking to Jolene and laughing.
Now he's after her, too?
Jason had a severe crush on the young receptionist. She was ten years younger but had this way of melting into his heart with her eyes. The only reason Jason hasn't asked her out yet was that he felt it might be viewed as "creepy." After all, there was quite a gap in the age difference, and the guys already call him "Old Man" in front of her.
But there he was. This new blood trying to make his way into all areas of Jason's life. And seemingly into Jolene's pants.
"Hi, Jay." Jolene said with a smile. She shortened his name the first day they met, and he loved hearing her say it.
"Hello." Jason responded trying to paint the fake smile from before back onto his face.
"Can you do me a favor?"
"For you, anything."
"Can you give Jeremy a ride home? He asked if I could, but I figured since it was on the way to your house that it wouldn't be a problem." He paused for a moment. Jason started to feel betrayed as one would feel when a spouse was cheating. But that would be ridiculous since he's never made a play for this attractive and young dark-haired beauty.
"Sure." Jason forced out.
"I wouldn't ask, but I forgot my bus pass and I don't carry cash." Jeremy added with a smile. He looked like a child asking a parent if he could have a cookie.
"Come on. Let's go." Jason said ushering the boy towards the elevator.
"Thank you, love." Jolene gave Jason a peck on the cheek as he walked by. It was enough to erase most of his contempt for the situation almost instantly. Blood began to flush his cheeks and his heart started to race, but for a much better reason this time.
Being able to hide his contempt was getting more difficult with each passing conversation. It seemed as though everyone in the world was working against him. All Jason wanted to do was curl up on his couch with a bottle of scotch and call it a day. Now he had to drive wonder kid home, and maybe even have a conversation along the way. However, Jolene had shown more affection for this act of kindness than she ever had in the past. Perhaps it was a sign that Jason should ask her out.
The car pulled up to the curb with a loud screech. It was a sign the brakes were going out, something Jason really didn't have time for until the project was done. The house along the curb looked a bit small and apparently didn't age well. The paint was peeling, a few tiles on the roof were missing and the lawn looked more like a Jackson Pollock painting than a yard.
"This is it?" Jason asked looking out of the passenger side window past Jeremy.
"Yeah, it's a bit run down, but it's cheap. I'm hoping that after a few paychecks I'll be able to upgrade to a nicer apartment. Right now, I'm just renting this old lady's basement."
With the rate you're going, you could buy my house by then you miserable little fu-
"So, I suppose I'll see you at your place in a couple hours then?" Jeremy asked opening the car door and stepping out.
"Absolutely. Anything particular you'd like on your pizza?"
Aside from arsenic.
"Nah." Jeremy shut the door to the car and leaned in through the window. "I like just about anything."
"Well, alright then. See you later." Jason replied forcing a smile to his face.
"Bye. And thanks for the ride." Jeremy turned and began walking towards the ram-shackled house. Jason looked at the glove box of his car. His father had given him a three-fifty-seven revolver years before. He kept it in the glove box as a form of protection. Jason looked at the young man making his way up the walk and began to imagine what it would be like to pull out the pistol and put a slug in the back of the boy's head.
"What are you doing, asshole." he whispered to himself putting the car into gear to drive away.
Just as Jason was opening the cardboard boxes of pizza, a knock at his door broke the silence. Immediately, his heart began to pound. He really didn't want to do this tonight. Working with the young man in his own home started to make his skin crawl. Jason took a deep breath and walked over to the door. Pausing for a moment, he quickly thought maybe he could act like he wasn't home.
Well, that's mature, you idiot.
Jason opened the door and ushered the young man in, the smell of garlic wafting in the air.
"Wow. This place is great!" the young programmer exclaimed stepping into the house. "And that pizza smells heavenly. Mind if I dig in?"
"No, go right ahead." Jason replied shutting the door. He stood there for a second staring at the peephole. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the young man who was already heading into the kitchen to grab a slice of pizza. Almost as quickly as he entered the kitchen, Jeremy returned with a slice in his hand while unzipping his laptop bag with the other.
"So I was doing some work on the code and I have a few things to show you."
Of course you do, Superdork.
"Can't wait to see." Jason said forcing a smile to his face yet again.
"Mind if I unpack here at the table?"
"No, go right ahead." Jeremy pulled the laptop out of his bag and sat it on the coffee table in front of the couch in the living room. A beautiful glass statue sat in the middle of the table in the shape of a spire with a solid marble cube base.
"Wow, that's really beautiful." the young man said with half-chewed pizza squished to the inside of his cheek. "What is it?"
"It's an award. I won it some time ago."
"Well, it's cool. Anyway, here is what I am talking about." the young programmer said pushing the trophy aside with a pizza-stained hand. He unfolded the laptop and turned it on.
Over the next hour, Jeremy poured over all the adjustments he made including additional fixes he found while at home. In the span of one day, the young man had made more headway in the code than Jason did the entire time he was working on it. In fact, some sections of the program were far more efficient and developed beyond the specifications. This made the program more than what was promised, making the Carson Project something of a masterpiece in coding. Jason could see his future fading away as this newcomer was about to take his place in the company.
With each passing moment, Jeremy grew more and more excited. Every time he explained a new addition to Jason, the young man would instantly add something else to the program that improved it. He was a machine, cranking out code almost as fast as he was talking. And with each passing moment, Jason's anger grew and grew. At one point, he could feel his pulse in the arteries of his neck.
"Oh, this is going to make me look awesome in the eyes of Mr. Durant. I'm sure to get a raise, don't you think?" Jeremy asked looking up at Jason. In that instant, rage had swelled up inside like a pot boiling over a hot stove. He thought of how this young kid was about to steal everything Jason had worked for over the years. Even losing Janice would have been nothing more than a waste if Jason let this new developer take the credit.
"Yes...I bet you will." Jason replied. As Jeremy looked back down at his laptop, Jason picked up the glass trophy spire from the table and heaved it down into Jeremy's skull. The initial blow of the marble cube hitting the young man echoed the sound of cracking bone throughout the living room.
Once isn't going to do it. You've gone this far, might as well put him out of his misery.
Jason began pummeling the head of the young programmer, each blow spurting blood, bone fragments and chunks of hair along the couch. The sounds of crunching bone was replaced by that of squishing fluids and brain matter. Afterward, Jason stood from the couch still clutching the solid glass trophy, which was now dripping with blood and bits of skull and brain.
The young man laid dead, slumped over the couch. There was no longer a recognizable face to the corpse. A few slivers of plastic frame were all that were visible of the horned-rim glasses protruding from the mangled pile of gooey flesh. As quickly as the anger swelled, Jason felt an odd sensation of calm sweep over him. He didn't have to worry about this kid stealing his life's work. He now had free run of Jolene without some new boy moving in on his territory.
He now had a massive mess to clean up.
In an instant, the euphoric sensation Jason felt dissipated. The realization of what he'd done began to settle in his mind and panic filled his heart. He dropped the glass trophy on the floor and put a mouth over his hand as if to stop a scream.
"What the hell have I done?" he asked himself. Looking at the mirror mounted on the wall across the room, Jason could see how he was covered with droplets of blood from the blow-back of each strike. Looking closer, he could see a tooth resting on his shoulder. He slowly flicked it off as if it were an insect trying to hitch a ride.
"Keep it together, man. You're doing fine. It's his fault, really. He shouldn't have tried moving in on your turf. This is your house, your rules, and your life. Just get rid of the body and copy the code changes to your computer." he answered. The little speech seemed to calm him a bit as he walked towards the bathroom to clean himself up.
He stepped out of the steaming shower and reached for a clean towel. On the floor in front of the glass doors to the shower was a pile of blood-soaked laundry. Drying himself off, Jason looked down at the once beautiful Turkish white towels now stained red. Stepping over the pile, he made his way in front of the steamed glass of the bathroom mirror. Reaching a hand out to wipe it, Jason paused for a moment. He wasn't sure if he could look himself in the face. With a quick swipe of his hand, a reflection of a man peered back at him. This man appeared stressed, worried and seemed to age in a matter of minutes.
"You're doing fine, Jay." he said to the reflection. "Just get dressed, go down to the store and pick up some bleach."
"I think that mess in the living room is a bit beyond bleach." Jason replied to himself.
"Yeah, that's going to take a bit more work. But, bleach can help with some of the other cleaning after we rip up the carpet and get rid of the couch."
His pace was swift as Jason made his way from the parking lot to the all-night grocery store. He needed to get in, grab what he needed, and get out. He had company at the house that he needed attending to. As Jason walked through the threshold of the store, a police officer was standing near the entrance with his hands on his belt. Immediately, Jason's mind began to run through the evening's events.
Did I get all the blood out of my hair?
Did I wash behind my ears?
The officer smiled and nodded at Jason. He smiled and nodded back making his way into the store. Jason's pulse was racing, and he knew the officer would surely notice the throbbing in his neck. Aisle after aisle, Jason made his way throughout the store. Each footfall getting quicker than the last. As he turned the corner into the cleaning supplies aisle, a little girl in a pink dress crashed into him at full force. She bounced off him and landed on her back sprawled across the floor. Jason briefly lost his balance but gained his grip by reaching out to one of the nearby shelves knocking over several jugs of laundry detergent.
"Get out of the way you fucking little brat!" he hissed at her gaining his footing. Without missing a beat, he continued down the aisle looking for the bleach without throwing the child a second glance. Once he grabbed the jug, he quickly made his way back past the little girl who was picking herself up off the floor holding her head. Their eyes met and there was something in the look of this little girl that made Jason feel uneasy. It was like she knew what had happened and she was going to tell. The glare she gave tore deep into Jason's soul to the point where he found it hard to swallow. For a brief moment, he felt as though she was unraveling his mind. Once he walked past her, the uneasiness began to subside.
Jason drove for what seemed like hours. In reality, though, the clock showed only 20 minutes had passed. He had his passenger nicely tucked away in the trunk while heading out of town. There was an abandoned dirt road few people used that led into a densely wooded area. He figured he would be able to easily find a place to stash his passenger somewhere within it. And since the road was usually only used by hunters during deer season, it would be a safe place to hide poor little Jeremy.
As he pulled the last shovel of dirt from the hole, Jason stood back a second to catch his breath. It wasn't the deepest hole, but the area in which he dug was quite isolated. In the distance, he could hear the sound of running water from the river.
"Didn't a train just get dumped into that?" he asked the roll of tarp containing Jeremy's body. "It's a shame, really. It's such a beautiful river. In fact, I don't think I can find a more scenic area for you, bud." He bent over and pulled Jeremy's blood-stained hands out from under the tarp.
"Since you won't be needing these anymore," he stated to the body while pulling a pair of wire cutters out of his pocket, "I just need to make sure no one else needs them either." One by one, he clipped the fingers and toes of the body while storing the digits in a plastic bag.
On the way home, Jason spotted an all-night diner. Upon the sight, his stomach started to grumble. It was then that he realized, he didn't really each much of that pizza. Perhaps he needed a full stomach and some coffee. Besides, he needed to use the restroom.
Walking into the semi-clean toilet stall of the restaurant, Jason pulled the bag of clippings from his pocket. A few at a time, he dumped them into the toilet and flushed. He didn't want to clog the drain by trying to flush them all. Afterward, he walked to the sink, splashed some cold water on his face and forced himself to give a smile in the mirror.
"Let's eat. We'll feel better after we eat." he said to the reflection.
"Fine by me, but I get to pick what." Jason responded standing straight and fixing the collar of his shirt.
Jason plugged a USB drive into his computer, ready to transfer the files Jeremy had been working on. Once he copied them over and did a little polishing of the code, the program would be nearly complete. And thanks to the additions Jeremy put in, the project will supersede anything imagined. It would surely be one of Jason's best pieces of software. It would surely warrant some kind of a bonus.
"Have you seen Jeremy this morning?" rang a voice to break the still silence in the office. It was Mitch standing in the doorway of the office, arms crossed.
"No. He came by last night, had some pizza and left." Jason replied keeping his eyes fixed on the computer screen while moving files from the external drive to his computer. He didn't want to look Mitch in the face for the fear of not being able to hold his composure.
"Huh. He left a message on my machine yesterday about some big breakthrough and wanted to show me what he had first thing this morning. You don't know what he was talking about, do you?"
"Not really. He was showing me something in the program last night, but it didn't work after we compiled it. Maybe he was just overzealous."
"If you see him, let him know I'm looking for him." Mitch stated with a tone of worry in his voice.
What, you gonna start crying now because golden boy is missing?
"Will do." Jason replied keeping his eyes trained on the screen while typing away at the keyboard. It wouldn't be long until he could finish the program on his own. Jeremy essentially gave him the key to unlock the issues this new programming language was having. It was like the young man handed Jason a Rosetta Stone for something that didn't exist.
That night, as the dim office lights illuminated the floor, Jason added the finishing touches on the program. After spending hours testing and retesting, it was ready. He ran the compiler to put the entire program together, which would take a bit of time. Standing up from his office chair, he walked over to the window overlooking the dark city. The clock on the wall read just after eleven. The only lights were from the street down below and a series of other offices with a dim glow of their own in a neighboring building.
"Was it worth it?" Jason said leaning his head against the glass. "Yes. You are, and always will be, the Alpha dog here. The little pup was put down like the stray he was."
The next morning, Jason had a bit of a spring to his step walking into the office building. It was the day he would present the complete program to Mitch. Stepping onto the elevator, he began to plan out his vacation after receiving a massive bonus for the good work. Jason imagined yet another trophy, getting a new car, maybe even a lake house up north somewhere. Stepping onto his floor, Jason shuffled his feet as if he were dancing past the receptionist's desk.
"Good morning, beautiful." he said to Jolene. She immediately began to blush as a smile grew wide across his face. He continued his trek down the walkway towards his office. It was like there was a tune in his head that made the entire day so much brighter. A sense of euphoria he had not felt in years. Jason's greatest triumph was about to earn him a great deal of notoriety and possibly greater opportunities than working in this company. Jason walked into his office and retrieved the USB drive he saved the program to the night before. Giving it a kiss, he placed it into his pocket and began to make his way to Mitch's office.
"Guess what I have?" Jason asked singing the words as a child would when showing off to a friend. "Something that's going to make you incredibly happy." the smile beamed across Jason's face almost in some kind of supernatural stretch that almost seemed unreal.
"I'm guessing from that shit-eating grin, you have something good to show me finally." Mitch replied sitting back in his chair.
"Oh, I do...I really, really do." He handed the USB drive to Mitch. "Give it a spin, Mitch."
"Is this what I think it is?" Mitch asked looking at the drive.
"Oh yes, yes it is." Jason's tone of voice was on the verge of maniacal. "And you'll be ultra pleased with it."
"Well, I guess we didn't need the new kid after all?" Mitch asked in a rhetorical manner plugging the USB drive into his computer.
"I told you. You should have trusted me."
"Well, let's see what we have." Mitch clicked on the program with his mouse to run it. The opening screen was the company logo spinning in a beautiful three-dimensional pattern. Suddenly, the screen went black. "Um, is it supposed to do this?" The blood drained from Jason's face as the screen remained black with only a flashing cursor at the top.
"What the hell? It was all there last night!" Jason shouted. His once jovial and heightened mood was near-instantly replaced with anger. With a flash of light, the blank screen changed to a black and white video as if it were recorded from an old security camera. The first clip was of Jeremy arriving at Jason's house and grabbing a slice of pizza. Terror gripped Jason's heart as he watched events unfold as they did the night before last. He watched as the video zoomed in to when he picked up the glass trophy and then zoomed out as he lifted it up to strike Jeremy in the head. Jason grabbed the monitor and threw it across the office.
"What the hell was that, Jason?" Mitchell looked up at him, the fear clearly painted on his face. Jason stumbled back out of the office trying to find strength in his legs to stand. His heart was racing as he heard the muffled gasps and voices from the cubicles down the row. Every monitor and television in the office was playing the black and white video. The sound of the trophy cracking Jeremy in the head was audible as if played on a loudspeaker. As Jason stumbled his way back to the elevator, he watched as every display in the office showed the video transitioning from the grizzly scene on his couch to him making his way into the store to buy bleach. People Jason once thought of as colleagues were now looking at him with complete horror. The screens shifted again to the hole he dug in the woods. A few of the women shrieked lightly as the video showed Jason clipping off the fingers and toes of Jeremy. Just as he made it to the elevator, the images on the displays changed one last time to him flushing the fingers and toes in the restaurant bathroom. Jason found his way into the elevator just as he heard someone say, "Call nine-one-one!"
Jason found his way into his car and rustled through his pockets to pull out the keys. Starting the engine, he sat and stared blankly out the windshield. The radio had been on and the morning news was just ending.
"What have I done?" he whispered.
"What you were meant to do." he answered back.
"Now what do I do?" Jason looked over at the glove box. "It's what you deserve." he muttered opening the compartment and pulling the pistol from its holster. Jason put the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
The car radio was still delivering the news despite being covered in blood spatter.
"...and the freight train carrying toxic chemicals is all about cleaned up. However, experts believe it will take decades to repair the ecological system of the area. Which is sad, really. It was once one of the most beautiful areas of town. Next up is a classic that can really get your heart pounding. Here is ACDC with Highway to Hell."