Andrew's mobile buzzed. It was probably Rhiannon, telling him that she was already waiting at the restaurant. Rhiannon was always the one to be extremely early… Punctuality was a sore spot in their relationship. "Always on time for every errand except a date with your girl," she'd said the last time they'd argued. Andrew hated it when she was right.
Andrew slipped his jacket on before he checked his phone. It was a text from Gemma, Mr. Morgenstern's secretary. "COME UPSTAIRS," it read.
Andrew stifled a sigh. Probably a last-minute errand that they wanted him to run… Didn't anyone care that the errand boys here had lives, just like they did? No, anyone here who wasn't an errand boy basically lived at the office.
He texted Rhiannon quickly: "I'LL BE A LITTLE LATE. BOSS IS AN IDIOT. SORRY. YOU CAN SHOUT AT ME LATER. KISSES."
The elevator ride up was painfully slow. The walk to Mr. Morgenstern's corner office was long and agonizing (running wasn't allowed in the office). Already Andrew saw some office workers standing around the water cooler talking. No one said anything to him. He was just an errand boy whose "office" was downstairs, if that little coffin of a room could be called an office.
Errand boy… What an odd job to have. Andrew thought the concept of errand boys only existed in the days before the Internet or even the telegraph. Still, Andrew knew that Morgenstern & Co. was wealthy enough to have a thousand errand boys without putting a serious dent in their spending budget. And a job was a job, especially in today's economy.
He stopped at Gemma's desk.
"You buzzed, Gemma?" he said, holding up his mobile.
Gemma smiled at him with that cool, distant smile that had annoyed Andrew when he first started working at Morgenstern. "Yes, I did. Mr. Morgenstern wants you."
"Any idea what it's about?"
"No. He just wanted one of the errand boys."
"Right, just as I was about to leave."
"Your shift doesn't end for another five minutes, Andrew."
"Oh to hell with my shift. Do I just go in?"
"Yes."
Andrew smoothed the front of his fleece sweater and entered the office, shutting the door behind him.
Andrew had never been in Mr. Morgenstern's office before. It was an oak-paneled room that reminded Andrew of those period dramas he sometimes watched with his mum and Rhiannon. The view was magnificent, with full-length glass windows that overlooked the city. Andrew briefly wondered if he would've gotten a shot at working at an office like this, if he hadn't dropped out of uni ten months ago.
There was a man sitting at a desk in front of the window, looking very much like a rich businessman. Andrew assumed that that was Mr. Morgenstern. Another man, tall and wearing a dark outfit, stood in a corner stony-faced and unmoving.
"You're the errand boy Gemma sent up?" said Mr. Morgenstern.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. You'll do. Now take your sweater off, if you please."
Andrew wanted to laugh at the odd request, but he did as he was told.
"Now," said Mr. Morgenstern, "a good friend of mine has an errand that needs to be run…"
"Well," Andrew interrupted, "not to be rude, Mr. Morgenstern, but I'm supposed to clock out" – he checked his watch – "in three minutes. You see, I've got an appointment after."
Mr. Morgenstern laughed. "Oh, believe me, boy. This errand is one that you don't want to miss. You'll be paid for overtime, of course."
Andrew hesitated. Being paid overtime meant that he could bring Rhiannon to someplace a little fancier. Perhaps she would forgive him…
"All right, then," Andrew said a little reluctantly.
"Good, good." Mr. Morgenstern snapped his fingers at the man in the corner, who produced a vest that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "What's that, then?" he asked as the tall man helped him into the vest. It was heavy and a little unpleasant, full of wires and blinking lights. Andrew couldn't help but feel like R2-D2.
"A vest wired with explosives," Mr. Morgenstern said matter-of-factly.
Andrew burst out laughing this time. "Yeah, right."
"Do I look like I'm pulling your leg?"
Andrew looked at Mr. Morgenstern's composed face and the unmoving features of the man in the dark uniform. The laughter died and his smile began to melt.
"What… What…? You can't be serious. What kind of sick joke is this? You can't force me to do this. You sick bastards." Andrew began to shrug the vest off, but Mr. Morgenstern laughed.
"No, no, my dear boy."
Immediately, Andrew felt cold metal at the nape of his neck. He froze and closed his eyes. There was nauseating knot at the bottom of Andrew's stomach.
"Now, are you ready to listen?"
"I suppose I have no choice," Andrew said, feeling his voice being choked in his own throat.
"If you want to live, you will listen. Now, you will get into the car with Michael, who is there behind you. You will get out when you're told and when you are out of the car, you will call the only number that is listed in this phone." Mr. Morgenstern held up a black, nondescript mobile. "You will receive the rest of your instructions via text. Do you understand?"
Andrew felt himself nod.
"Clever boy. Now put your sweater back on. It covers the vest so well, don't you think? Now, off you go! Goodbye." Mr. Morgenstern wiggled his fingers at Andrew.
Gemma was not at her desk when Andrew exited the office with Michael. The activities in of the office workers were so normal that it seemed so disgusting and unreal to Andrew. Could they not see the way Michael had something pressed into Andrew's back? The gun? Andrew's face, frozen and tight with shock?
No one, as usual, was paying any attention to the errand boy.
Author's Note: Some of what I write might not be entirely consistent with the TV show. Obviously I don't know the back story with the hostages, and I've changed some details to my advantage. I've tried my best to keep everything accurate as possible, though. Please enjoy the story!