I lean with my back against the wall. Today was supposed to be easy, just a quick check in at the office, enjoy a coffee and then head to the indoor golf range.
doesn't look like I'll be working the irons today though' I mutter under my breath as I pick my head off the concrete wall and move towards the cafeteria.
I scan each area of the hospital quickly and am back to the main entrance in under 10 minutes, my futile search ending where I started out. Uneasy doesn't begin to describe the feeling as my eyes drift, as if in slow motion, to the front door where shiny chains are strung through the handles effectively trapping me in. My heart starts to pound as I quietly head back down the hallway, checking for an unlocked door but only the windowless bathroom is open. I slip in and check the stalls to ensure I'm alone and once satisfied I sit on the counter and try to think.

Drop-Ceiling.

In most retail/business buildings there is no solid ceiling, a false one is created so there is easy access to cabling, pipes and lighting. There is a crawl space large enough for me to fit! I jump up on the toilet and climb onto the top of the metal divider. Into the musty ceiling and through a tangle of wires I go and then softly settle the tile into place after me. The dim lighting makes it hard to navigate but raw determination to survive drives me on, my thoughts just earlier spread through my head and 7 layers out, now intensely focused in on one objective.
Get out Alive.

___________________________________________________________________




I can see Mr Morka through the thin slit I've created by slightly raising the edge of a ceiling tile. His balding head shaking as he spits Russian into the grime covered telephone, definitely convincing me he isn't all that happy with his day. As the conversation comes to an end he sits down and switches to English, talking in slow deliberate tones.
" Ven I ordered da hit I vas only sinking of da brosahood.'
My blood chills and I let the tile slap down causing Mr Morka to jerk his body around and yell something unintelligible into the phone. I hear crashing and movement and suddenly a large ice pick comes through the tile beside me, weakening the support system my body is perched on and I crash down to the floor losing consciousness.