Where's Harlan?

Where's Harlan?

W/C 286

George and Mike walked into the office. The light still on, no one sat at the desk.

“Where’s Harlan?” George asked the vacant room. No answer. Mike stood and stared.
“He was here when we left. Where’d he go, Mike?” He aimed the light at Mike.

Mike opened the back room door and peered in. “No one back here. He’s gone for sure.”

George parked himself in the ratty chair. Mike stood and stared at George again.

“Well, this is just fine. Fine. We’ve lost Harlan. What’s the boss gonna say now?”

“Uh, you’ll never leave Harlan alive. I think that’s what he said, George.”

George stared at Mike for a moment. Then he said, “You’re something else, you know that? When God was givin’ brains that day you were born, did you hear trains and said ‘I’ll take a slow one’?”

Mike stood and stared at George again.

“What the boss said, since you FORGOT, was ‘Harlan better not leave alive’. Remember?” George now stood beside Mike and was poking Mike in chest with his finger.

“Don’t do that, George. “ Mike batted away the finger. “I don’t like your finger doin’ that.” Mike towered over George and looked down at this small man.

“Oh really? Well, I don’t like it when we lose Harlan. How do you like them apples?” With that, George poked Mike one more time in the middle of Mike’s throat, right on his adam’s apple.

Mike grabbed George’s arm and threw him to the floor. Mike’s foot stomped on George’s throat. George gurgled a breath and died.

“I said not to do that, George. Harlan did that and then I did what the boss said. I didn’t leave him alive.”