It had been almost three weeks since he accidentally stumbled on to the 7 1/2 floor. With the exception of Larry, he hadn't seen anyone else around. Not that he was complaining. He didn't know what he was going to say if he actually found someone here. What could possibly be said, "hey nice half a floor". Or maybe-- "Wow that's a wonderful portal... Do you think I can have one installed in my living room?". It was better off that he didn't see or that anyone see him.

He took some time off, that way when the novelty of this wore off, he would have a job to return to. Chuck mostly stuck to the doors within the Eastern half of the United States. After one day of being Reiko Kawamura, recipient of the Tokyo Reporter, he found it a pain explaining his presence to local authorities after he was expelled into a protected park of cherry blossoms. He spoke Japanese, though the police didn't quite understand his dialect and poor Chuck wound up spending six hours in a holding cell until they found a translator.

It was also putting a strain on his wallet. He eventually had to fly home afterwards, but on the plus side he was
racking up the frequent flyer miles.

He also tried the door that belonged to Peggy Fisher, recipient of the Washington Post. That almost got him
locked up for treason after he was expelled in to a highly restricted area of the US Mint. Luckily he was a great liar and convinced them that he had accidentally strayed from the tour. They let him go with a warning never to come back and Chuck gladly accepted. Once back in Chicago, he marked that door and a couple of others a no-no.

From David Baker of the Anchorage Daily News to Joni Landburg, recipient of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Chuck found that each of the "special" subscribers were basically the same. They all helped people, each went with a different way of doing so. Some were like Sam Cooper and Nancy Mitchell of the Tombstone Tumbleweed who helped themselves while they helped others, while others like Christina Adley and his friend Gary who used the paper selflessly.

Chuck thought about Gary and how much he missed his friend. It had been weeks since they'd seen each other. Physically seen each other. He was technically with Gary when he entered his mind but that was something wasn't the same. Gary had no idea that Chuck was there and Chuck couldn't really interact, except on a subliminal level. The excitement of his discovery had consumed all of his time. He was beginning to miss hanging around with his best bud, especially their daily breakfast at McGinty's. How they would talk about what was in the paper with Marissa just before work they went to work and Gary did his errands of
the day.

He walked to an unoccupied desk, picked up the phone, dialed nine, then Gary's number. He was disappointed to hear the click of the answering machine instead of his friend's voice. It was almost 9 p.m. Chuck hoped the paper wasn't sending him to another pointless save like stray dogs in traffic. "Hey buddy, it me," He said after the beep." I just called to say hi and was wondering if you wanted to meet me for a beer... Call me back on my cell phone."

"What am I doing," he thought to himself. "I can go see..."

He jogged over to Gary's door to find that his blue duffel bag was right where he left it. Chuck was beginning to wonder if anybody actually worked on this floor besides Larry. Come to think of it he hadn't seen Larry in a while either. He pushed that thought from his mind and quickly put all his swimming equipment on. Once finished, he stepped through the door.

---
(Hey Gar, what are you up to now?)

"I'm telling ya put the gun down... Nobody has to get hurt."

(Whoa!!! Um... I don't think you've noticed but he has a shotgun and he's pointing it at you.)

"Here," Gary handed the gunman a wad of bills from his pocket. "That's all you're going to get from the register. Take it and leave."

"Thanks for your donation. Now you," he turned to the clerk. "Open the safe!"

Chuck's view shifted to a young man, trembling with fear. "I... I... I don't-t-t... ha-ha-have the k-k-key..."

"You're lying!" The gunman raged.

The gunman lifted the shotgun to swing at the attendant, completely forgetting that Gary was there and now behind him.

Gary sprang into action. He quickly grabbed the top of the gun with one hand and tackled the guy, pushing him into a magazine rack.

The gunman crashed into the rack. He laid on top of the weapon, dazed.

"Run Kenny!"

The clerk didn't need anymore prompting. He ran out the door.

"Mother--fu---" The armed robber rose from his position on the floor to see Gary making a break for it. He still had his weapon. He cocked the shotgun and let off a blast. It just missed Gary's ear.

Gary scrambled out the door. He tripped off the curb and landed on the pavement, skinning the palm of his hands, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. Quickly getting back to his feet, Gary ran behind a dumpster, located on the side of the building.

(Come on! You've helped him enough. The gas station attendant can take care of himself.)

Gary was crouched behind a dumpster, tired and out of breath. He stood motionless not wanting to alert the gunman to his whereabouts.

(LET'S GO! If that manic hits one of the pumps were all
done for!)

"The pumps!" Gary pulled the paper from his pocket. The front page changed. In stead of "ATTENDANT, 19, SHOT TO DEATH", it now read "40 DEAD IN EXPLOSION"

His best friend held his ground, scanning left and right for the missing attendant. Under a navy blue sedan, Gary saw a head poke out. It was the attendant.

"I know your still out there!" The gunman yelled. He fired two shots in the air. "All I want is the safe key!"

(No...)

Chuck felt that force pulling at him, but he didn't want to go. Chuck needed to stay here with Gary. He needed to know if he was going to be all right. It took sheer will power to stay and that effort was rapidly taking its toll on Chuck.

(Get out of here Gary before you get hurt!)

Gary quickly crawled to the next car. He had to somehow disarm that maniac before he hit the pumps and help the attendant who cried silently underneath a near by car.

"Why didn't I call the cops..." His plan was to warn the attendant and get him to leave before anything happened. But the paper was wrong about the time. Gary had gotten there 10 minutes early to find the robbery taking place.

(Gary come on... Get out of there... Let the cops handle it...)

Gary quickly sprinted to a tow truck parked by the garage. He need to get closer to stop this nut.

The gunman spotted him. He fired another shot towards Gary. It missed Gary completely and shattered a window. Gary dove behind the tow truck for protection.

"You're still here? Who the hell do you think you are? Superman? Well, I got the kryptonite bullets!" The gunman fired three more shots at the tow truck, one shattering the windshield, the other two becoming imbedded in the door.

The gunman spun around. He heard something a bag crinkle behind him. It was Kenny, the attendant, making a break for the phone. The gunman leveled his gun and aimed at the young man and fired. The shot missed, but struck the pay, reducing it to nothing more than frayed wires, melted plastic and twisted metal.

That was the distraction Gary needed. Gary ran as fast as he could towards the gunman.

The gunman twisted around to see Gary leaping towards him. He aimed his shotgun at Gary and was about to pull the trigger...

The world spun around Chuck. The unseen force had finally succeed in pulling Chuck away from Gary's body.

Chuck screamed. He didn't want to go, but had no more energy to fight it. He had no choice but to leave Gary with the crazed gunman.