By Stoney M. Setzer
“I can’t believe you hacked the store’s security cameras,” Sophie said in awe. The laptop screen illuminated Caleb’s dark apartment. In the bottom right corner, a tiny display read 12:57.
“Child’s play.” Caleb puffed his chest out. “In fact, I hacked everything. I can run the whole show from this laptop. Of course, it helps that management actually trusts me.”
Sophie looked up from the laptop. “And you’re sure you want to do this? Even if we don’t get caught, you’ll be unemployed.”
“Oh, we’re not getting caught, and I want to. Anybody who has ever worked for Joe Jerkins wants to do something like this.”
“Good point.” Sophie grunted. “I wish I had never met him.”
He looked at her sympathetically. “I’m sorry about your grandfather.”
“Thanks. Last Thanksgiving had been my only chance to see Paw-Paw—at least like he was before the stroke.” Sophie wiped away a tear. “I could have talked to him one last time, but Jerkins wouldn’t let me have the weekend off to go to Mississippi because…”
“…Nobody gets Black Friday off,” they said in unison.
“Until now.” Caleb looked her in the eye and smiled. Sophie resisted the urge to turn away, feeling more guilty than disgusted. After a year of working together at Jenkins Emporium and a couple of junior college classes together, Caleb had made his crush obvious. She’d used that to coax him into helping her. Now she realized his assistance might come at a price. If nothing else, she’d at least have to go out with him. At least.
One of Paw-Paw’s sayings came to mind. Sin takes you farther than you want to go and costs more than you want to pay. Or something like that. That, and Mom’s favorite: Nothing good happens after midnight.
“Just think, Sophie. He’s never going to make anyone else sacrifice time with their family for Black Friday again.” He chuckled. “Black Friday stinks.”
“So, you’ll make sure nobody is in the stock room when you blow it up, right? Just damaging the merchandise and the building?” Sophie suddenly felt very uneasy. “Right?”
“Nah, I’ve got something better than that. I rigged the front door of the store instead of the stock room. Once Jerkins opens up for all the shoppers…” He spread his hands wide, pantomiming an explosion.
“What?” Sophie pulled back. “What happens when they open the door?”
“There’s a ten-second delay before the bomb goes off. Plenty of time for Jerkins and the first wave to stampede in.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “But you’re talking about killing people!”
The customers. Her coworkers.
“Sure, why not? You wanted to get revenge, right? Jerkins might have made everybody work on Black Friday, but he’s only half the problem. If people didn’t line up on the sidewalk at 1 a.m. for some stupid deal, then Jerkins wouldn’t need to make us work. All those shoppers are just as guilty as he is.”
“But…” Her stomach twisted. “I only wanted to wreck the store, not…”
Caleb shrugged. “The store itself didn’t cause you to miss seeing your grandfather. The people did. Make the people pay for it.”
“But…” This is way out of hand now. I never meant for it to go this far. What would Paw-Paw say if he could see me now? “Caleb, I can’t go through with this!”
“You’re too late. They’re opening the doors now. See for yourself!”
Unwilling to look at the screen, Sophie turned away. Her eyes fell on the door, making her wish she had never walked through it. A pop echoed from the speaker—followed by screams.
Screams? But if they’re all blown up, who could be alive to scream? And wouldn’t the explosion take out the cameras too?
Sophie gaped at the monitor. Billows of white smoke filled the air, but the building seemed to be intact. Some employees crowded together in front of the camera. None of them appeared to be hurt, but they all held their noses.
She gaped at Caleb in confusion. “But… I thought you planted a bomb!”
He smirked. “Yes, I did… A stink bomb. Totally harmless, unless you count the fact that the store will smell like a septic tank for a while.”
Jenkins ran into the screen, holding his nose with one hand and gesturing to his employees with another.
“You… You tricked me,” Sophie said, feeling relief instead of anger. “But why?”
“To save you from making a horrible mistake. What if I had planted a bomb in the stock room and someone had been in there? Even if it was just Jerkins who died, would you have really been able to live with yourself? Would that have made you feel any better?”
Sophie stared at the floor. “I guess I didn’t think that far ahead. I was just bent on getting back at him for cheating me out of my last Thanksgiving with Paw-Paw…”
Caleb motioned toward the screen. “You have gotten back at him. Right now, people are probably on social media warning everybody about the stench. Jenkins might still be alive, but we killed his bottom line for the day.”
Sophie sighed. “Thank you, Caleb. You saved me from myself.”
“You’re welcome.” He looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze again. “I really care about you, but I think you need some help.”
She nodded, tears flowing. “I think you’re right.”
They were silent for a moment before Caleb spoke again. “But at least this proves what I’ve always said.”
“What’s that?”
Caleb smirked. “Black Friday stinks.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
A thriller with an honorable twist. I enjoyed this.
Thank you, and happy Thanksgiving!
Kids these days getting revenge with their “stink bombs” and “bad social media reviews”. Sheesh! In my day, all we had was arson and we were happy to have it!
Lol! Happy Thanksgiving!
Great story! I confess that at one time I did the 1 am Black Friday vigil, but great deals lost their attraction when I realized I was giving up a perfectly good day with family to be stuck fighting with strangers. Not worth it.
Thank you, and I agree completely! My wife got me to go along with her a fee times, but when she decided to give it up, I definitely did not complain!
* few times
Well-done tale! Sorry to have missed it the day-of.