The Journalist and Old Man Henwick (standard:humor, 0 words)
Author: Maya	Added: Jul 14 2001	Views/Reads: 3129/2115	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
What's going on at Henwick Steel Mill?

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within it. 

Theo changed to his second plan of action. He would not be able to avoid
being detected any longer. The morning would come and with it would be 
the obvious signs of a break-in. At this moment, he felt so close to 
revealing the truth that he was willing to risk it. From another pocket 
of his jacket he withdrew a small, thin hacksaw. He slipped this into 
the crevice where the lock mechanism was in place. Slowly and 
methodically he sawed through the metal until the lock snapped and the 
drawer freely opened. He was not surprised to see inside the drawer was 
a small, but nonetheless secure, fireproof safe. The safe lock was the 
type with falling tumblers. Compared to the new electronic locks, this 
would be much simpler for Theo to open. 

Several years ago Theo wrote a piece on criminals and their modus
operandi. Through his research, diligence, and friendships with several 
of the criminals he was interviewing, he was able to learn the skills 
of the burglars, bank robbers, and thieves. After learning the how-to 
skills, he proceeded to practice them on his own until they were fine 
tuned. At this moment he felt completely justified for all the time and 
effort he put into learning his new skills. Removing a tiny, high tech 
listening device from his inside pocket, he pressed the ear piece into 
his ear and the suctioned the listening end securely above the lock of 
the safe. He began the mundane process of extracting the combination by 
carefully turning the lock and listening for the tumblers to fall into 
place. Several quiet and tense minutes later the safe was finally open. 


There was only one item inside the safe – a small box. To Theo’s relief
the box had no lock. He took the box out of the safe and sat it on top 
of the credenza. His heart was beating rapidly, pumping his blood 
through his heart at an enormous rate. He had visions of Pulitzer 
Prizes and journalism awards flashing across his mind as he lifted the 
lid on the box and gazed into it’s depth. 

What he saw made him shiver with disgust as his previous visions of
grandeur suddenly evaporated from his mind. Theo quickly closed the 
box, replaced it in the safe, shut the safe, spun the lock, shut the 
drawer, and retreated from the office and the building. A shadow among 
other shadows, he made his way to the employee parking lot. He sat low 
inside his vehicle waiting for the current shift to end so he could 
exit the company property with the rest of the automatons without 
suspicion. He would never be returning to his job at the Henwick Steel 
Mill. He was done. He would be haunted with horrible nightmares because 
of what he saw in the box. If he were to meet Old Man Henwick again – 
an entirely likely possibility as he was often to be found in the mill 
overseeing the work of his employees - he would surely loose the stoic 
composure of which he was so proud. He’d hate for that to happen now. 
‘No,’ he thought to himself. ‘Time to get out of Dodge.’ 

Theo sat in his car thinking about this assignment. After spending weeks
easing himself into the position of obtaining information and 
opportunity to search Alvin Henwick’s office, after wasting his 
precious time, after the backbreaking work he did in the heat of that 
godforsaken mill, he was still unfazed. Nor did the loss of the 
potential earnings from the newspaper assignment faze him. The 
investigative article for the newspaper would never be written, at 
least not by him. 

He took several Polaroid photos from his jacket pocket and, without
looking at them, held them tight in his hands. He smiled. He couldn’t 
help it. In his hands he held the key to his potential financial 
freedom. He knew Mr. Alvin Henwick’s secret. Theo was certain Old Man 
Henwick would pay him to keep it. If he didn’t want to go along with 
Theo’s suggestion ...well...there was always the tabloids. 

Lulled into a dream state by visions of wealth and prosperity, Theo was
startled when the whistle ending graveyard shift sounded. He looked out 
his window to see the herd of people marching to their vehicles. 
Tossing the photos casually on the passenger seat, Theo started his car 
and followed the masses out of the mill’s employee parking lot. 

Lying face up on Theo’s passenger seat were several photos of 82 year
old Mr. Alvin Henwick, president, owner and CEO of Henwick Steel Mill, 
the most profitable steel mill in North America. He was scantily 
dressed in leather and was lying on his side on the very same 
conference table that adorned his office. He was hog-tied, bound, and 
gagged, but still able to smile broadly. Attached to the collar he wore 
around his neck was a chain. The chain was held by a leather clad 
dominatrix. The dominatrix appeared to be in the process of whipping 
Old Man Henwick with her black riding crop into blissful oblivion. 


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