Battered into Submission

It was late at night, and the lobby of the rundown hotel where Carl worked as a late night porter was nearly silent, apart from a squeaking noise made by the old chandelier which hang from the ceiling. Carl looked up from his newspaper.  “I really ought to fix that chandelier” he thought to himself, as he picked up his newspaper again. Apart from being a night porter, Carl was also a sort of handyman, and he usually fixed these kind of small things around the hotel during his shifts. The chandelier had been making the squeaking noise for some days now, and he had been meaning to bring his toolbox, but he had forgotten to do so.

Carl shrugged to himself as he continued reading his newspaper, listening to some faint music coming from a nearby open window. Tonight had been another uneventful night, as usual, but Carl didn’t really mind. After all, he was beginning to get of age, and in a few months, he might be retiring. Since he had never married, Carl lived alone in a small apartment several blocks from the hotel, and he had been saving up for his retirement for several years now. Carl leaned back in his chair slightly, thinking to himself about his plans after his retirement. Perhaps he would move to a country with a warmer climate, and enjoy the last years of his live in leisure, or perhaps he would visit the places he had meant to visit for years .

Carl was awakened from his thinking by the sound of the front door of the hotel opening, and approaching footsteps. Carl frowned slightly. “Well, well, who could that be at this time, then?” Carl folded up his newspaper, and looked at the door. In front of him stood a man of medium age, wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, and holding a small baseball bat in his right hand.
“All right old fart, hand over the contents of the safe, and any valuables you might have”
Carl frowned slightly, and shook his head. The hotel had never had the need of a safe, and he didn’t have anything apart from his flashlight and the keys to the hotel rooms.
“I'm afraid that the hotel doesn’t have a –“ Carl began, but the man interrupted him.
“Don’t give me that crap, hand it over, or I might get nasty.”
The man took a few steps towards the desk, and gave Carl a menacing look.
Carl held up his hands, and shook his head again.
“Look now, I assure you that –“
The man took another step towards the desk, and snapped at Carl.
“Look, ill give you till the count of three, and after that, you’ve got a problem.”
Carl swallowed once, and looked at the man
"One..."
“ Look, I can give you the hotel keys, but—“
"Two..."
“Really, this wont do you any good, will it?”
The youth raised his bat in the air, and waved it angrily at Carl, who closed his eyes, and waited for the impact.
“Thr—“
There was a loud crash, and a grunt from the man, and when Carl slowly opened his eyes, he saw the man lying on the ground unconscious, the old chandelier lying on the ground next to him.
Carl shook his head slowly.
“I really, REALLY ought to fix that chandelier.”