The Nothing Read Online Free PDF Page B

blue garbage dumpster and ducked behind it. He aimed his gun around the side and waited. Quickly glancing around, he noticed that it was a dead end alley behind him, but open at the other end in front of him, which was probably one hundred feet or more. If those men came out, Bentley would be trapped. Quickly, he ran out from behind the dumpster and fired three shots towards the back door as he ran to the open end of the alley. After he made it halfway down the side alley, he saw four men walk out in his path thirty feet ahead of him at the street. He had left his cover back at the dumpster leaving him fully exposed; only walls to either side of him now and nowhere to duck. Bentley quickly assumed it was the men who had been shooting at him and emptied the rest of his clip in rapid bursts while sprinting towards them. Two of the men fell to the ground while the other two ran from sight. Bentley decided it would be better to run for his squad car as fast as he could instead of running around the streets like a lost dog. The car was still parked in the street opposite from the front of the restaurant and the crowd.
    As h e passes the two men he had just shot, he notices they were both wearing ties and dress pants. It hit him like a ton of bricks when he realized they were both businessmen; black businessmen. And, there weren’t any guns around them. Only a briefcase, fancy backpack, and two small styrofoam boxes filled with leftover lunch. If it weren’t for the adrenaline, fear and relentless August heat, he would have been able to see their professional attire and control himself. But Bentley made a mistake. It has been in the news much too often when a police officer kills an unarmed black man. Some are justified, but some are questionable. It is an issue that has continued to haunt society with no resolution.
    I wish people knew that when there is shooting going on, it was best to go somewhere else, not standing there like your watching a fucking parade or street performer. Oh God why didn’t I use some fucking patience?
    Any other time his heart would have broke. But all he wanted to do was get to his squad car. As Bentley ran from the alley out into the street, he glanced to the front of the restaurant. The large crowd had now made their way inside. Several turned around and pointed as he ran by. No time to watch out for any more gunmen. They could be inside or somewhere waiting in ambush. And the spectators still weren’t making much of an effort to get out his way. After several bumped shoulders and shoves, Bentley made it to the door of his car. The time from when he grabbed the door handle, to when he was able to get in and close the door, seemed like an eternity. As soon as the door slammed shut, Bentley fumbled for the lock button then heard the beautiful sound of all four doors locking. Finally he could catch his breath.
    Sadly, the stillness inside of the car was quickly disrupted. Several people surrounded the car and began yelling and banging on the hood. He was able to make out “Murderer, pig, and killer pig.” Bentley had shot two unarmed black businessmen taking a lunch break, two innocent businessmen that he had sworn to protect. They probably went to church like he did. Might have been war heroes, organ donors, college graduates, mentors, artists, husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. They were more than likely the type of men that Bentley would give his life for because he believed so much in his job and the people he protected. Never had he ever wanted or imagined that he would be in a situation like this. Gentleness and innocence were Bentley’s strongest character traits. Now he was a cop that had abandoned a homicide scene, a bleeding suspect still cuffed to a chair, shot two innocent men, and was being targeted by a group of men that wanted to kill him. And he was alone.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

The weird guy
     
     
    There stood the payphone. A channel for help amongst the