Gone Vantage — #2
Stop, the deer dies. Run, the deer might survive. Evolve, the deer might turn around and fight.
The thing about coming back to an old place is that he also has this feeling of coming back to the person he was. And, he hates it. He exhaled deeply as he stands right in front of the door which he left a month ago.
The distance between that street bookies stand and The HQ should’ve only taken half an hour. But, instead of taking a cab, he opted a long night walk of 5.4 km from the station to The HQ. He needs a bit more time to think. An 1 hour and 7 minutes more time to think.
This small office stood in a quiet street in the central of the city. The neighbours are residential houses, modern markets, and small restaurants. The HQ stood humbly in the streets with a dark grey flags waving in front of it. The HQ’s walls still the same, bright grey spotted with a white lights. On the walls, wide windows with a black curtain hanged neatly, 4 on the right of the door and 4 on the left. These simple structures of walls and windows, gives an awe feeling just like how he wanted it back then. Nothing much could change in a month, he thought to himself.
He put both of his palm into the door, one for each side, and sharply push them inside until it opened wide. It’s 5.47 pm, and he’s back. Finally.
He was welcomed with 2 long banner with The Company’s name and logo on each, Conquer.co. As he expected, most of the team still there, busy and barely noticed he was there. But, one of the guy sees him and whisper to the person next to him, and without taking a long time there was a shush sounds and everybody was quiet.
He stood still on the door, neat as always, as everybody is looking at him. He wears a clean black tie, a grey shirt and dark trouser. When talking about gestures, he is the steadiest as a man can be. He scanned the whole room and gives one or two nod and a smile.
“Al,” Rio emerges from the door on the opposite side of the room. It was an emergency stairs door. He looks just as neat as him, but without ties and a messy hair. Also a broader chest, lighter skin, and less beard on his face. “Welcome back.” Al answers in a nod. They were gazing at each other for a moment and as everybody was watching them. “Come, let’s talk.”
They went into a small room in the corner of the office. It’s the C-Level room. The room is consisting of a dark grey square table, four black office chair two on each side, a macbook, stacks of documents, and a white board with graphics and numbers on it. The floor is covered in a grey carpet and the walls are white and covered with elegant geometrical art of animals printed on grey wood.
“Eddie shows me the video of you messing up these street bookies, can’t say your arrival was not expected.” Rio sits on one of the chair, as Al walks into the window across the room. It is sunset on the horizon, peeping about between skyscrapers outside the building and showering the room with an orange light.
“We are not stopping, Rio.” Al said without facing him.
Al gazes at him as he could not believe what he just heard. “Well, I thought you stopped a month ago when you left.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Well, you should’ve made it clear.” Rio said as Al sat next to him.
“I did, you’re just not paying attention, enough.”
“I never did. Am I, Al?” challenged Rio.
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps, I don’t. So, that’s you the whole time doing that? So, that’s how it is, now? You don’t tell me things, anymore?”
A moment later Marvin Stormed into the room, he breathes heavily as he strokes a ready to fight gesture. Among the three of them, Marvin is the shortest. He wears a thick glass on his oval head.
“You think, you can just come back here? You think?” He hands shivers as he pointed into Marvin.
Al stares back at him as he stood up and took a couple steps towards Marvin. He stopped in front of him for a moment, before passing him and close the door, behind.
“How are you doing, Marv?” Al finally said.
“How am I-? What, you just do that, do you? Ignore everyone arounds you and do whatever the fuck you want.”
“Marv.” They stared at each other for a moment, before Marvin finally forced an exhale and calm his breathing. “I’m back. We are moving forward, now.”
“Forward?” asks Marvin.
“He’s not quitting, Marv.” says Rio with his eyes closed as he strokes his forehead, “This business, Al. This business is bigger than all of us.”
“Then make ourselves, big. If you both are smart enough, you’d know we already passed the line where we could simply walk away.” There were silence as both Rio and Marvin know it very well that Al is right, it’s too late to stop. Their fingerprints is everywhere, now. “I need you both for this. We are going to make this right.”
The sun already set. The room is no longer orange. It’s dark. No one said anything after that. Rio and Marvin sat quietly imagining all the places they could’ve end up in the years to come when the fate finally caught up with them. Mind the years, it could also ended in months, weeks, or even tomorrow.
Al is back to the window, only this time is not the sunset he’s gazing at, but the moon. Unlike Rio and Marvin, he’s not imagining bad places they will end up in. In fact, he’s imagining being on top of the world.
We might’ve made a mistake but blindly went into this tunnel. But, we sure not going to stay blind from this moment forwards, Al thought to himself.
He has always been lucky so far, but, he’s gonna need a greater luck forward.
