Ultimate Showdown Chapter Three
The activity in the office was physically overwhelming, like a hive's reaction to a carefully thrown rock. The tension was building and overflowing. Nervous reporters scurried back and forth, certain that their big break was on its way. Leonard sat back and watched the masters at their best.
He was new to the office. He would stand in the corner next to the coffee machine, his stirrer going round and round in nervous circles. The Sweet-and-Low made his mouth taste bitter, a certain hint of darker times.
He leaned on the blank wall and heard the ribbons of conversation wind around him.
"So how was your weekend, Nancy?"
"Did you hear about the attacks on...."
"Ugh, Folger's is rotten!"
"Oh, the kids did fingerpaint and ended up painting the cat. She's still green..."
"I agree. That's why I have..."
"Billy Mays once..."
Leonard basked in the energy of the people. He was a reporter in training, but he had the mind of a writer. Nancy's kids and the green cat and Billy Mays and Folger's....the ingredients formed a story unlike any other in his mind...
The image in his mind shattered into pieces as a foot came flying in from the window. Leonard felt nothing, saw nothing but the giant, socked foot. His last thought was, "I never knew that Batman wore stockings."
Then he was out.