Page 5 of Greed

“Hey asshole, take your sexist comments and shove them up your ass before I have you written up for inappropriate workplace behavior,” Penny yelled, holding up her cell phone, the threat made clear.

Minetta wanted to shrink down in her seat and disappear. She hated confrontation, and here she was smack dab in the middle of it. “It’s okay, Penny,” she whispered.

“No, it most certainly is not! He’s a fucking pig.” She made oinking noises at the guys, and Minetta wanted to crawl under her desk as the entire call center quieted with the show. Penny placed her hands on her hips, fuming across the narrow aisle from her cubicle. Penny was only a year older than her, but her friend was like a mother hen in the office, and she took her role seriously. Rude co-workers, unfair pay, even the quantity of unhealthy snacks in the cafeteria, Penny was ready to Mother hen the hell out of those situations and more.

“Why don’t you loosen that knot on your head, and maybe you’ll actually get a guy to be interested in you,” Jared said but luckily sauntered away before the fight could escalate further.

Penny only ever wore her hair one way at work, and that was in a high ballet-style bun. Her hair was beautiful, so Minetta had no idea why she didn’t let it down once in a while. “Can you believe the nerve of that prick? Minny, you really need to stand up for yourself. You have enough ammunition to have that dirtbag fired. I don’t get why you let him speak to you like that.”

She rubbed her face and sighed. “I know, but I just don’t want to cause trouble. You know me, Penny, I hate when there is a mix-up with the lunch order, let alone something like this.”

Penny opened her mouth to most likely continue berating her for not being tougher when her headset rang with a call.

She hit the talk button. “Nine one one, what’s your emergency?”

“You have to save me!” The man’s voice yelled into the phone, startling her. Even after working here for the last few years, she never got over the initial burst of adrenaline that accompanied the fear in a caller’s voice.

There was a crackle of a bad connection, and it sounded like he was moving. She focused on the sound a little harder, and it was definitely the soft thud of feet, but the weird noise accompanying was the sound of something nylon, a windbreaker maybe. She’d gotten way too good at learning different sounds through the phone. She knew how to differentiate types of clothing, different screams, and even different breath sounds. Like an elaborate painting, she could picture them in her mind.

“Okay, Sir, can you tell me your name and what is happening?” Minetta said, her fingers poised to take down the information.

“It’s after me…I can’t shake it. Oh my god! I’m going to die, please, please save me,” he blurted out, his voice high and hysterical.

“Sir, I can only help you if you tell me where you are?”

“Central Park. Aahh, no, how did it get over there. Shit!” His breathing was loud in her ear, the steady panting of his lungs working hard as he ran.

“Okay, Central Park, that is a good start. Now, what is after you, Sir?”

“You won’t believe me.” He sounded close to tears, his voice changing again, adding a little gasp.

“It’s not my job to judge you, Sir. I’m here to help. What is after you?”

“Please just send help.”

Minetta stared at her multiple screens and typed in the call as she muted herself. She glanced at the board, and N-657 was the closest car. She quickly radioed them and relayed the little bit of information she had before switching back to the unknown man.

“Sir, help has been dispatched to your location. What is your name?”

“My name’s Sam. No, no, no, how can there be more of them? No please, this can’t be happening, please help me,” he begged, his voice breaking with obvious fear.

Minetta was starting to wonder if Sam may have taken something and was having a terrible hallucination. It most certainly wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last that she received a frantic call like this. Yet, something about this man’s tone had a slightly different feel to it. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was that was making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, but she was nervous for him.

“Sam, take a breath and tell me what is after you.”

There was more thumping of feet and then the distinct crunch sound of a gravelly surface. She tried again to get Sam’s attention, but all she could hear was, “Oh god, oh god.” There was a groan and then the rustle of leaves or bushes as they rattled loud in her ear. “Sam, are you still there?”

“Shhh, they may hear you.”

Minetta lowered her voice to play along. “Sam, the officers need to be able to find you to help you. Where are you now?”

“I’m hiding in some shrubs near the center of the park. Our Father, who art in Heaven…” Sam whispered. She recognized the Lord’s prayer even though she didn’t attend church often. She quickly typed into the screen that the complainant may be on an unknown substance. There were too many drugs that seemed fun to try until you ended up naked and running down the street being filmed by hundreds of people. It was either that, or he could have a mental health issue. She quickly added that to the notes on her screen, but he didn’t seem confrontational.

Minetta didn’t doubt that Sam’s fear was real. His voice was laced with terror. The question became, was his fear over a real threat or one that was attacking only his mind. The officers would handle the situation with care regardless. Still, if there was an assailant with a gun, that was a very different situation than someone in the throes of something medical.

“Sam tell me this, what is your last name?”

“Bailey.” She typed in the new information, and unfortunately, there were thousands of Sam Baileys in the system. She needed more info. Maybe a family member could provide insight if he was spiraling.