This is just a short one shot about Josef's view of the "not-quite recession". Beta'd now. Thanks sooo much Penina.
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
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The "Not-Quite" Recession
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of Josef's head banging against his desk resounded through his office. He picked his head up, eyes closed, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, hoping that the physical blows he was taking would be enough to change the computer and TV screens.
Nope.
Curse words flew from his mouth as he banged his head against the table once again for good measure. Keeping his head on the desk, he sighed. Yeah, right. We're not in a recession, no not at all. Stupid politicians and their hidden agendas.
He raised his head once again and this time stood to his feet. He walked out of his office and back to Ryder's work area in the next room.
When Ryder looked back at him, the look on Josef's face was enough to keep him from asking if his boss was "OK".
"Keep an eye on things, and if it gets even worse, let me know," he said, walking past his employee and out the other door.
He quickly left his office and headed toward his room. There was one good thing about having his freezer room in his office; he could be at his desk with his phone in hand in a few seconds if something were to go south quickly. But it didn't help ease his mind of the millions of dollars he was loosing in his investments.
When his phone started to ring, he thought about ignoring it, but when he looked down and saw that Mick was calling, he decided that a good long rant was what he needed before bed.
"Mick."
"Josef." There was a pause. "Is something wrong?"
Ha. He took the bate.
"Wrong? Why no, why would something be wrong? I'm just leaving the office after finding out that millions of my hard earned dollars are going down the tubes with this 'not-quite recession' that we're in. Not only that, but if I lose much more money, my investor friends from overseas are going to start pulling their money out of our economy. Do you know what that will mean for us, Mick?" He paused for a second, but didn't wait for a response. "We won't be in a 'not-quite recession' nor will we be in a recession. The United States will be in a deep depression, and that doesn't bode well for our lovely economy and inhabitants."
"Josef, don't worry. We're just in a small recession. It'll clear up soon," Mick said, obviously trying to cheer him up.
However good his intentions were, they weren't helping matters.
"'Don't worry'?" Josef asked, sarcasm lacing his voice. "How can you not be worried? I may have helped you find your investments, but how are they doing right now, Mick ol' boy?"
There was silence on the other end.
"Just what I thought. Mick, if things don't turn around soon, you'll have more to worry about than whether or not you're going to turn your girlfriend."
"Josef-" He heard the warning, but it didn't matter to him.
"Mick, get over yourself. It this thing hits the fan, we're going to have to split. Or at least I am. I'm not going to be sticking around LA when the gas lines and food lines are out the doors. I'm not going to be sticking around LA when people already kill each other over nothing – how do you think they'll react when they're going hungry? I'm not going to be sticking around LA when I would have to kill anyone who came within two feet of me, and risk being found out." Josef paused for a moment. "You may not have had to deal with the torch baring mob, but I have no inclination have them at my front door."
He heard a sigh from Mick. "I know, Josef. If the worst happens, we'll be getting out of Dodge."
Josef knew Mick was probably just saying that to appease him and to get him off of his rant. Seeing as how he felt better and was ready to go to sleep now, he decided to end the conversation. "Well, good. Glad you know that I'm right. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."
"Fine. Call me when you get up, then."
Josef hung up the phone and placed it on the table near the door. He made sure that the door was locked before hanging his clothes back up and sliding into his freezer.
Josef may have felt a little better, but thoughts of the crash of '29 were filling his head as he drifted to sleep. He vividly remembered the panic that ensued after the crash. How it was every man for himself. Not only did he lose almost everything, he had to kill a man who had cornered him for his money and jewelry. Soon after that, he had left Chicago, where he had been living as Timothy Ivan, and moved into a small town in the mountains of North Carolina, where there was a small vamp community to whom he knew several members. There they hid until the election of FDR and WWII finally got the country out of the depression.
He didn't want to have to go through that, ever again.
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This story I just thought up about half an hour ago. I thought about Josef's reaction to the 'not-quite recession' that we're in, and thought this would be a funny little piece. The outcome, if it were to turn as bad as Josef was telling Mick, would not be funny in the least. I pray that we are out of the recession – and we are in one, even if the government is in denial – very soon. I hope none of you are in a bad way because of it and that the economy turns north asap.
Also, for those of you looking for the next chapter of A Surprise Meeting, I am working on it and hope to have it up soon. I am under the weather right now, but hope to work on it as soon as I feel better.
-Jen