Ed Villein's Arc

Chapter 9 of 12

Ed walks fast across the parking lot, documents stuffed under his shirt and in his jacket pockets. Pages crinkle with each step. He needs to find whoever broke into the shed before they report what they saw. The boot prints were fresh, still dark with moisture in the treads. Whoever left them works here. The security booth sits near the loading dock entrance. Ed slows as he approaches, scanning through the reinforced glass. A man inside looks up from his desk—mid-forties, thick build, wearing a ChemCorp uniform with a worn employee badge clipped to his chest. The badge plastic is cracked, the photo faded. The man's eyes meet Ed's through the glass, and he doesn't look surprised. He just nods once, like he's been waiting. Ed steps inside. The booth smells like coffee and cigarette smoke. The man leans back in his chair, arms crossed. "Found your shed," he says. No apology, no explanation. "Scattered your papers so you'd know someone saw." Ed's jaw tightens. The man continues, voice flat. "Those memos you copied? I helped load the barrels they're talking about. Eighteen months of night shifts, dumping waste where they told me to dump it. My daughter's eleven now. Tumors in her lungs. Same age as the kids in those reports you've been reading." Ed doesn't move. The man reaches into his desk drawer and pulls out a pawn ticket, ChemCorp letterhead printed across the top. A warehouse claim number is written in faded ink. "My wife's wedding ring," the man says. "Medical bills cleaned us out. You want me to keep quiet about what I saw in that shed, you get this back for me. Five hundred dollars at the pawn shop on Archer Street. That's the price." He slides the ticket across the desk. Ed picks it up, studies the claim number. The man who poisoned his own community is asking for help saving what's left of his family. Ed folds the ticket into his pocket. "I'll have it by tomorrow," he says. The man nods once more, and Ed walks out knowing his plan just gained an accomplice—and a debt he'll have to pay before he can finish what he started.