BOOM (4 page)

Jeffrey did not respond.

“Darryl says you haven’t even tried to sell anything this
morning.” Donovan was frowning at Jeffrey now. “He says the store has been
pretty full this morning. Griffin has already moved over $500 in stock. Even
what’s her face has sold something. What’s going on?”

Jeffrey frowned back. “It’s cleaning day. I have to clean
the store and dust all the shelves. I get…” Jeffrey stopped.

“Go on, what is it?”

“Well, if it’s not done right, I usually get reprimanded.”
He looked at Darryl out of the corner of his eye.

Darryl piped in. “Jeffrey’s right. I expect a clean store
every week. But I don’t see why he cannot complete sales at the same time.”
Donovan nodded and smiled and Jeffrey watched as some unknown understanding
passed between the two men.

“Well, Darryl’s quite right. The store needs to be spic and
span. And we need you to sell.” Donovan leaned forward. He grabbed an envelope
and tossed it in to Jeffrey’s lap. “That’s this week’s paycheck. If you ask me,
it’s pretty skimpy. You don’t want skimpy pay checks do you? Right?”

Jeffrey shifted in his chair and Donovan continued.

“Remember what we talked about yesterday, Walls? About the
jungle? And what kind of animal you are going to be? I know you thought about
it. Well, I want to know. I want to know what kind of animal you are.”

Jeffrey began to knot the envelope he was holding with his
hands. His brow furrowed ever so slightly. The other two men did not notice.

“Griffin’s a tiger. I’m a lion. Darryl’s the wise old bear. Hell,
we even got a sexy little pussycat out there.” Darryl snickered at this. “So
what is my salesman, Walls, going to be?”

 Jeffrey was worrying the envelope between his hands. The
paper began to tear and rip.

“Well, I’m waiting. This is Go time, Walls.”

Jeffrey still did not answer.

“Donovan is talking to you,” Darryl said. “This is your time
to finally show us what you got.”

“C’mon, boy. Show me some moxie here.” Donovan was waiting.

The envelope ripped in two and fell to the floor.

“Boom.” 

Jeffrey sat staring at the floor.

“Boom? What the hell’s a boom?” Donovan looked confused. He
glanced at Darryl, who only shrugged his shoulders back. Darryl rose from his
seat and came to stand next to Jeffrey.

“Well, Boss,” Darryl turned to Donovan, “I guess this is
that college education coming out. Everything has to have some utter deep
meaning to it. Maybe he can explain exactly what “Boom” means.” Darryl looked
down at Jeffrey.

Jeffrey looked up at Darryl.

“Why don’t you ever shut the fuck up?”

The silence was overwhelming. Both managers only stared at
Jeffrey, their mouths slightly agape.

“What did you just say?” Darryl asked.

“I said,” Jeffrey continued, his voice rising strong and
loud, “why don’t you ever shut the fuck up, monkeyboy?”

Darryl stood up. “Now wait a minute, son, I can’t just….”

Jeffrey continued. “Monkeyboy. Yeah, that makes more sense.
Not a bear. No, bears are respected and actually somewhat liked. Monkeys,
though, who the hell likes a monkey? All they do is throw shit and beat off all
day. Yeah, that’s better. You should be a monkey.” He looked up at Darryl.
“Then you can spew shit all day long.”

“You are out of line, Walls! This is a huge write-up
coming!” Donovan’s face was turning red as he spat the words out.

Jeffrey settled back in his chair. He turned to Donovan.

“And lion? Really isn’t that stretching it a bit, Boss? I
mean lions are proud and majestic. You don’t quite measure up if you ask me.
You’re more of an ass if you think about it. Kind of good for nothing, lying around
taking big dumps. Like you do on your lunch break when you head back to the
john with the newest Hustler. Everyone knows you’re shitting and masturbating
at the same time.”

Jeffrey leaned forward. “Why are you masturbating every day,
Boss? Things not working out with the missus. I guess not. Probably why Darryl
is over at your house on
his
lunch break fucking your wife all the
time.”

Darryl turned beet red. He glanced nervously at Donovan, and
began licking his lips.

“Now wait a minute…” Darryl was easing away from Donovan and
reaching for Jeffrey.

“If you touch me, I’m going to break your face.” Darryl
froze.

“Get out.” Donovan squeezed the words from his mouth. “Get
out of here, you little smart ass. Before I call the cops.”

“Get the fuck out of here!!!! Now!!!” Donovan rose from his
chair, screaming.

Jeffrey got up and turned to the door. He looked back at his
former bosses.

“Happily. But first I want to thank you. You’re right.
Everyone should cater after some sort of animal, that primal instinct that lies
buried deep inside ourselves. But I don’t know. I think I feel a bit different
today. Not really animal-like.”

“Today I feel like a hunter.”

“Have a nice day, assholes.”

Jeffrey slammed the door behind him.

When he walked out into the showroom, everyone was staring
at him. All the other employees, customers, even the delivery person who
re-filled the drink machine had paused in what he was doing. All had heard the
commotion coming from Donovan’s office.

Jeffrey nodded at the spectators and headed for the
entrance. Allison was looking at him with concern. Griffin ran up to him, all
smiles.

“Holy shit, Walls, what did you….” Jeffrey punched Griffin
in the face. His fist connected straight with the middle of Griffin’s skull and
the taller man hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. Blood was squirting from
Griffin’s nose, which was now broken and smashed like a pancake. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Griffin was gasping through
watery eyes.

Jeffrey raised his foot and kicked Griffin between the legs.
Twice. Griffin began to yowl with pain, holding his balls while trying to stop
the blood from flowing down his face. Jeffrey stepped over the prone man and
walked up to Allison.

“You deserve better. He’s trash, a complete fuck-up. He
doesn’t know how to treat you right. You are the sweetest person I have ever
met.” Jeffrey turned and headed for the door. “You need to wake up and drop his
dumb ass.”

He was out the door before she could respond.

VII.

His hunger from earlier that morning now returned with a
vengeance. He pulled the car into a small diner and picked a table far back in
the corner. Jeffrey wondered if Hi-Tech would call the police. Then he found
that he really didn’t care if they did or not.

When the waitress came to take his order, he picked out
three different entrees and four kinds of dessert. As he plowed into the food,
he felt like he would never get full, would never be able to stem the tide of
energy that had erupted from his stomach and head.

Boom indeed.

He ordered a milkshake and downed it with a large
cheeseburger. Steak and eggs disappeared along with a Ceasar salad and
meatloaf. He finished his lunch with a glass of sweet tea.

Sitting at the table, waiting for the waitress to bring back
his change, Jeffrey looked out at where his car was parked.

My car. What did they keep saying? It’s a really nice
car, Jeffrey.

“A really nice car,” he said out loud to himself.

Jeffrey got in his really nice car and drove home.

They were waiting for him when he pulled into his parking
spot. Ulee was already clapping Pierce on the back, both of them wearing
innocent smiles. Jeffrey turned the car off and sat looking at the duo through
the windshield. UIee took a few steps forward and lightly knocked on the hood.

“C’mon. Don’t be mad. It was just a joke. A little gift from
my girlfriend.” Ulee was standing in front of the car, his hands held up in
front of him. Pierce was snickering and lighting a cigarette.

Jeffrey got out of the car. Ulee began to walk towards him.

“Hey Walls. It’s okay. That’s nice car you got….” That was
as far as he got. Jeffrey hit Ulee in the throat. Ulee immediately began to
choke and cough. Jeffrey grabbed him behind the head with both hands and thrust
a knee up into Ulee’s chin. The man’s head snapped back violently and Ulee
bounced off the side of the car.

Pierce’s mouth hung open, his cigarette dropping to the
ground in front of him.

“Hey. Hey Walls…” Pierce stumbled towards Jeffrey.

Jeffrey snatched the side of Pierce’s face and pulled. Every
piercing on the right side of the punk’s face came away with a nasty wet rip.
Pierce screamed bloody murder and fell to the ground, grabbing at his face.
Jeffrey kicked him in the stomach and turned his attention back towards Ulee.

Ulee was trying to backpedal away. Jeffrey grabbed him by
the hair and pulled him to his feet. He guided Ulee to the front of the Altima.

“You like the car, Ulee?” Jeffrey hissed. “You like it so
much I’m going to give it to you. Here you go.” He slammed Ulee face first onto
the hood. Ulee’s head bounced up and Jeffrey slammed it back down again. Over
and over he drove Ulee’s head onto the metal exterior. A large dent began to
form on top of the hood.

One last time Jeffrey slammed Ulee’s head against the car.
Ulee was bleeding from his nose and forehead. His eyes were turning glassy and
began to roll back into his head. Jeffrey released him and the thug hit the
ground.

Jeffrey leaned down and whispered into the beaten man’s ear.
“You like my car so much, I’m going to feed it to you.”

Jeffrey walked to the driver’s side of the car. He lashed
out with his foot and kicked the side mirror off the door. The mirror fell to
the parking lot with a clatter. He reached over and snatched it up.

Ulee’s eyes were beginning to clear as Jeffrey leaned over
him. He pulled open Ulee’s mouth and began to stuff the mirror between his jaws.
Blood spurted as Ulee’s lips were cut open with broken glass. Jeffrey pushed
down harder and now he could hear teeth and plastic cracking apart.

Ulee began to make a strangled gurgling sound. He began to
gag and choke on mirror and skin. Pierce sat up on one knee and watched in
horror at what was unfolding before him.

As he shoved the mirror down Ulee’s throat, Jeffrey turned
to Pierce and smiled. “Every time I see Ulee, I’m going to feed him another
piece of my car. And every time I see you, I’m just going to beat the living
shit out of you.” Pierce nodded emphatically.

“Please, you’re going to kill him. Please. We’ll never
bother you again.” Jeffrey gave the mirror one final shove. Blood shot out of
Ulee’s nose. He knelt beside Pierce. The side of the young man’s face was a
series of small bleeding holes. He reached up to one of the remaining ear
pieces and yanked it out. Pierce screamed again and began to cry.

“You better not. You better never ever fuck with me again.”

Jeffrey stared into the mirror. His face was new. Maybe it
was the blood flecked across his cheeks and forehead, but the face looking back
at him was of someone else. A new Jeffrey. A reborn Jeffrey. His hands were
covered in blood as was the whole front of his shirt. He quickly stripped and
turned the shower to scalding. The day rinsed itself away down the drain.

He exited the shower feeling refreshed. He quickly toweled
off. Walking naked to the living room, he glanced out the window to where his
car was parked. There was no sign of his victims from earlier. The broken
mirror lay on the asphalt and there was a huge head-sized dent in the hood of
the vehicle.

He looked around the room and immediately wanted to leave the
apartment. He was wide awake; his skin and head thrumming with electricity.

Go out. Go out and explore your new world.
He dressed
in jeans and a black t-shirt and headed out the door.

He took the parkway to downtown, looking for a place to have
a drink. The sun was easing slowly down below the horizon. Jeffrey had all the
windows down and was blasting the radio as high as it would go. He didn’t
recognize the music. Something by Korn or Tool or some other band. All that
mattered was it was loud and rocking and mirrored his energy buzz. He took exit
32 onto Glass Road and merged into traffic.

A few blocks passed and then blue lights flashed in the
rearview mirror. Jeffrey glanced up and watched as the police car sidled in
behind the Altima and pulled up on the rear bumper.
Took them long enough,
he
thought. He figured Griffin called them. Ulee and Pierce weren’t the policeman
kind of person.
Maybe it was Donovan. Does it fucking matter?

He pulled into the parking lot of a small dry cleaners and
waited for the officer to approach. The police car parked behind the Altima and
the office sauntered up to the driver’s side. Jeffrey turned the radio down
halfway.

“How are you today, sir?” Jeffrey looked at his reflection,
the new different Jeffrey reflection, in the officer’s dark sunglasses.

“Do you know why I stopped you, young man?”

Because I beat the shit out of three people today. And I
threatened to beat the shit out of my boss too.

Jeffrey glanced at the passing traffic. ”No clue, officer.”

“Were you aware that your driver’s side mirror was missing?”
The policeman pointed at the dangling wires and snapped plastic that recently
held the mirror. It was less than ten inches from Jeffrey’s face.

“Nope. I was not aware of that.” He looked up at the
officer, gauging him.

“State law requires that all motor vehicles must have a
working driver’s side mirror. Where is yours?”

Jeffrey yawned.

“Can I see your driver’s license and registration please,
young man?” Jeffrey brought out both and passed them to the officer. He watched
in the rearview as the law strutted back to his cruiser. He turned the radio
back up. Metallica. Old school Metallica.
Nice.