Jeremy had ended up falling asleep about fifty minutes into his shift. It's not like watch black and white screens for six hours was the most exhilarating job. He just kind of rested his head on his hand for a second after putting out his cigarette and within minutes he was asleep.
Not exactly an ideal situation to be in on his first day on the job, especially if Fransisco was as pissy as Payton had said. Though Jeremy hadn't particularly worried about being caught; it was past midnight, and he was the only one in the building at the time.
Or so he had thought.
Jeremy was suddenly woken up by a sharp pain coming from pressure to his neck. Naturally, when Jeremy came to he spun his head around. "Hey, what the fuck-?" He hissed and attempted to grab what was on his neck, but the thing was taken away when Jeremy came to.
"Have a lovely rest, Sleeping Beauty?"
Jeremy looked at the man standing in front of him. It was the piano man from earlier. Though now Jeremy could see more details and features of this man. He had vibrant green eyes and a prominent gap between his teeth. He had features that were definitely masculine, yet at the same time soft enough to be a woman's- soft lips, slender features, and long eyelashes. He was wearing white gloves over his hands and his sleeves went up to where the gloves started, so the only part of him that was not clothed was his neck and head.
He gave a wide smile down to Jeremy. "My, my, how would Fransisco react to his new employee sleeping on his first day?" He asked condescendingly in a smooth British accent, "Oh, he wouldn't be pleased at all~"
"Who the hell are you?" Jeremy murmured, still mentally waking up, "And what the fuck did you do to my neck?"
"Relax, love- it was only a little pressure point. Had to wake you up somehow~" The man chuckled at his own "joke." "The name is Benjamin Moore, but please, call me Ben. I'm a, uh… 'close friend' of Fransisco's, if you can call it that." He stuck out his gloved hand, all while keeping the same smile on his face, and Jeremy cautiously shook it.
"Jeremy," Jeremy said bluntly with a hint of suspiscion.
"My, what a strong grip you have," Ben commented, removing his hand and tracing a gloved hand lightly over Jeremy's forearm, "Fransisco said you had muscles, but bloody hell, you're as strong as a bouncer!"
Ben took a step forward and leaned in closer to Jeremy. He moved his hand to Jeremy's face and brushed the bangs out of his eyes, sniffing in the air. "Such soft hair. And you smell like you live in a cigarette carton, not that I particularly mind."
"What the hell, get away from me, you fucking creep!" Jeremy snapped. He shoved Ben away from him and stood up from his chair, feeling his blood already starting to boil in his veins. At least he was fully awake now if he wasn't before.
Ben's smile faded and he blinked in surprise at the sudden contact. He then regained his posture and unnerving smile rather quickly. "Sorry, love," He apologized light-heartedly, "Sometimes I can't help myself around the new workers~"
Jeremy's hand hovered over the pocket with his taser. "Look," He growled, "I don't care if you're Fransisco's right hand man or his fucking gay lover, but you woke me up, now leave me the hell alone, you creepy fucker."
Ben laughed softly at Jeremy's attempt of intimidation, bringing his hand up to his mouth. "Come now, Jeremy, surely you could think of a better way to address me than that foul language. Besides, I'm only having a little fun. Is there really any harm in a little joke?"
Jeremy couldn't think of a response, so he decided to remain silent. His hand still kept hovering over the taser pocket. He looked down at his watch. It read 1:37 am. 'Damn, I was out for that long?' He thought.
"Shouldn't you have left the building by now?" Jeremy questioned.
"Well, technically this is partially my building, so I'm allowed to come and go as I please," Ben replied, "And I needed to check up on something for Fransisco. I'll be out of your hair soon enough."
"Fine, just leave me alone and let me get back to work." Jeremy sat back down in his swivel chair and turned back to the cameras, hoping Ben would leave. Ben didn't leave, and instead folded his arms casually and leaned against the desk. Jeremy wasn't looking at him, but he could still feel that eerie smile boring into him.
"So," Ben started casually, "I hear you're one of Ferrah's friends."
Jeremy had no choice but to engage in conversation, since it was apparent that this asshole wasn't leaving anytime soon.
"Ferrah… oh, Fritz?" Jeremy said, "Yeah, we knew each other in high school, but 'friends' is a strong word…"
"Quite an exuberant young lady, isn't she? Was she ever your lover?"
"Fuck no. She's prefers girls, and I wouldn't be caught dead swapping spit with her."
"Ah, she's a lesbian?"
"She said she's 'pansexual' or something, but I have my doubts. All she ever goes for is girls."
"Pansexual?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow and chuckling, "Is that an American term? It's a new one to me. Well, that last part was true- she's always eyeing Cheyenne's behind when her back is turned."
Jeremy took out another cigarette and lit it, since Ben obviously didn't care. "Don't you have to check on something for the boss by now?"
Ben pouted his lip. "Aw, you don't enjoy my company?" He said, "Something wrong with two men engaging in a nonchalant conversation to pass the time and break the ice? You know, you should be grateful I go out of my way to talk to some low tier worker like you. You'd never this kind of treatment from the others."
Jeremy groaned in annoyance, avoiding the urge to lose his temper. Ben stayed quiet for a minute, staring at the cameras and then around the office.
"Fransisco told me you used to be a police officer," Ben said finally, though not looking at Jeremy, "Though obviously not anymore."
"What's it to you?" Jeremy muttered, clenching his teeth at the sudden change in subject.
"Nothing, I'm just a curious man with curious questions."
'So that's what you call it- "curious"?' Jeremy thought.
"And why would you give up such a noble position to work for such a measly salary here?"
"I got in trouble and now I'm poor," Jeremy replied coldly, not looking Ben in the eyes and smearing his cigarette into the ashtray. His temper and blood pressure was ready to burst at any moment.
Ben raised an eyebrow and looked down at Jeremy. "You know, it's quite rude not to look someone in the eyes when speaking to them." He proceeded to grab Jeremy's shoulder and attempt to swivel him around to face him.
Big mistake.
In a burst of anger and annoyance, Jeremy turned and grabbed Ben's wrist as hard as he could. He stood to his feet and stared down Ben in the eyes, his outburst of rage currently controlling his body.
"I said don't fucking touch me," He gritted through his firmly closed teeth. He shoved Ben back and Ben nearly lost his footing due to the sudden action. Ben's face was full of a mix of surprise and utter disgust, and then curling back into a grin. He began to laugh, making Jeremy furrow his brows.
"Aw, aren't you so brave for standing up for yourself~" He said in a sing-song voice, "You definitely have some bite. Usually new employees are too nervous or smart enough to not treat me with such disrespect on the first night. But you… you're quite the man, Jeremy."
Before Jeremy could respond, Ben lunged at Jeremy and had him pinned against a wall with a pocket knife at the other's throat, while his other hand held Jeremy's arms behind his back. For such a scrawny man, he sure had a firm grip. Jeremy considered fighting back, but the blade right in front of his neck said otherwise.
"I like you, Jeremy," Ben said in a threatening tone into the other's ear, "But even disobedient police dogs need some training to know who's boss. You know, there's a reason I'm Fransisco's closest ally- I keep workers like you in line. I could slit your throat to let you bleed out right here and not lose a wink of sleep. So the next time you want to act brave and fight me like that, remember that little piece of information.
"Oh, and don't tell about our little quarrel to Fransisco. The poor man has enough to worry about without you making a scene. He'd be most displeased to deal with the likes of you."
Ben finally let go of Jeremy by roughly pushing him against the wall and Jeremy staggered, holding onto the wall for support to avoid falling. As quickly as he had come, Ben was already gone from the office.
Sweat beads were perched on Jeremy's forehead and he was trying to catch his breath. "What... the... fuck?" He muttered between the breaths, "That guy's a straight-up psycho." Was that even allowed in that business- employees threatening new workers with knives at their throats? Did he do that to all employees?
After a minute of just standing in fear, Jeremy sat back down in his chair and looked at all of the screens. Ben was no where in them, so he must've left the building by now. Jeremy considered on mentioning this to Fransisco, but then again there was the certain possibility of having Ben slit his throat, since he was obviously close to Jeremy's boss, so he decided silence was golden in that situation.
He just sat in his chair and have on more smoke for the rest of the night. He avoided even getting up to go to the bathroom the entire night, not wanting to risk another encounter like that one. Maybe the next few paychecks would balance out the new European threat soon enough.