Take Down in the Electronics Aisle

“I’m not interested in partnering up.” Anjelica said. She was quite serious in her full security uniform. Tony Rousseau led her to the back of the warehouse store, his belly almost bursting his too small baker’s apron.

    “No, no, Joey’s a co-op student from Watcheye College. We don’t have a lot of money for security here. It’s breaking the bank hiring you people, and then they said for what we could afford they could only send one guard. Joey’s taking the security and safety course at the College.”

   “Great.”

   At the back steps went up to a second floor office that overlooked the entire store. Joey, a short scrawny student, with questionable skin issues, sat in front of two laptops. He stood up to attention when Angela came in with Mr. Rousseau.

   “Hi, I’m Joey, I set up cameras. Here, look. I got split screens.”

   Anjelica looked back at Tony. “No, no, he’s doing a good job. He’s recording people and everything. But we need a professional. So, keep an open mind. Just give it a chance. And we’ll see how tonight goes. You know, daytime, alright, but nighttime, you know, we’re open so late. I mean, we got to restock the shelves anyways so we might as well stay open, but it sometimes attracts trouble. But you look like a very strong lady, I’m sure you will put an end to… well, let Joey show you what he’s done.” Tony closed the office door, abandoning them to sort out the way things would be.

   Anjelica sat in the opposite chair. “Show me.”

   Joey lit up. “I got eight cameras. They’re really cheap, HD. Three down each wall, one over the front cash registers, one over the back stockroom door and washroom doors. Our split screens in fours.”

   “These hurt my eyes to look at.”

   “Yeah, it’s the laptops, we need, like, twenty-seven inch monitors. But they don’t have any money for anything.’ Joey squinted at Anjelica’s monitor. “Look at that guy. I’ve been watching him. He keeps looking around all the time.”

   “He looks like he’s looking for help. What is that, Spices and Condiments aisle? His wife probably sent him for something and he can’t remember. I wouldn’t pay a lot of attention to that aisle, Joey. You want to be on the pharmacy at the back, the cosmetics aisle, and the electronics aisle.”

   “Did you go to a college?”

   “Watch the screens.”

   “My dad worked security. Thurston. Archie Thurston. Have you heard of him?”

   “Joey, how old do you think I am?”

   “You work out.”

   “You don’t and you should. Do you play any sports?”

   “No.”

   “Chess club?”

   “No. I can play chess.”

   “I don’t. Watch the floor. The lady in the meat section. That’s a large empty carry all bag for someone who isn’t shopping with a cart or a basket. Why did she bring the bag?”

   On the floor Tony approached the woman offering friendly service, but she only shook her head and left the store.

   Joey laughed. “What do you think he said her?”

   “May I help you? When she saw she someone was noticing her she ran away.”

   Tony approached another woman on the floor who had a toddler. He kissed the toddler, swung it about, and then hugged the mother.

   Joey looked at the other views on his laptop, then looked a little towards Anjelica. She was riveted to her screen. He looked at her uniform up and down. Her shoes were well polished. “What’s on your belt?”

   “Deterrents.”

   “Do you always work Retail?”

   “No, sometime empty buildings. Apartment front desk. Special Events. Don’t they cover this? Aren’t you learning it all in a school?”

   “Oh, yea.”

   “Then be quiet and watch your cameras.” 

   There was a knock at the office door. Anjelica was there before Joey even turned in his chair. Tony came in with coffee in mugs, cream and sugar on a tray.

   “Why did you knock?’

   “That was my foot, my hands are full here.”

   “Thank you.”

   “No, no, it’s for my benefit, I want you both to be awake. Is she telling you what’s what, Joey? Is she bossing you around?”

   “Was that your wife, Mr. Rosseau?”

   “Who?”

   “With the baby?’ Anjelica said.

   “No, no, that’s my sister, that’s my niece. I got no kids. I got no time. My wife left sixty pounds ago. She said you should lose weight. I said I should be happy. Never hook up with a bossy woman, Joey. Everyone’s they’re own boss. No one’s in charge. Oh, here, here.” Tony waved his hands over the laptop screens. Look up, out the windows to the floor. Tony stepped back near the door. He turned off the office lights from the switches there. “See? See how clear it looks now? With the lights off. This is how we did it without cameras. Before cameras. Okay, I got to get back out there. Drink your coffee.”

   Tony left and Anjelica turned the lights back on. Joey and her returned to watching the laptop screens.

   It was nearing eleven when Joey announced, “I have to go soon. I’m only here for half shifts. I got to study, too.”

   “Uh-hmm”

   A couple came in the front and went directly to the third aisle. The woman picked up an umbrella from a bin, and started fiddling with it as if she was having problems opening it. They moved from a camera on Anjelica’s laptop to on being monitored on Joey’s.

   Anjelica rolled her chair beside Joey’s. “Look, for people with baggy clothing who move too fast. Look, for people who look around too much. He is looking around too much, and she is not looking at anything, but knows where she’s going.”

   Anjelica leaned over Joey to see closer. Joey froze as Anjelica was very much in his space. Her chiselled smooth jawline was in his face. He could smell her hair shampoo.

   “If you click on one, two, three, or four it will go full screen on whatever camera you want to see.”

   Anjelica’s arm went to the back of Joey’s chair to support herself as she looked deeper at the screen.

   “You can get these cameras on your screen if you toggle F9.” Joey went to reach up to the keys on his laptop to show her and then saw he was in danger of touching her.

   “She’s opened the umbrella. We can’t see him anymore. She’s blocking the camera with the umbrella.” Anjelica lifted her head to be eye to eye with Joey. “Shut the lights off.”

   Her face was so close to his. “Huh?”

   “Shut the lights off. Now.”

   Joey got the lights. When he returned Anjelica was watching out the windows at the couple below. He could see from this view the man was filling his oversized coat with cell phone products.

   Anjelica got up and brushed past Joey. “Stay here.”

   On the floor she confronted the man who threw a phone at her, which she easily sidestepped, took his arm, and put him to the ground. She bound his hands with a zip tie.

   “Throwing that phone at me is assault.”

   “Do we call it in now?” Joey asked.

   “Why are you here?”

   “It’s my co-op.”

   “No, why are you here, on the floor, beside me? Why are you not in the office, where you are safe, and separate from this, where you can call it in if I need assistance.”

   Back in the office Joey gathered his things to go.

   “I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time, Joey. I just want to know if you do this work you got to worry about your safety first. If you’re not safe you won’t help anyone else.”

   “Maybe we can have coffee some time, talk about things I need to learn?”

   “No, I don’t think so, Joey, that’s what you pay the school for.” She shook his hand. “Good luck.”

   Tony gave Joey a bag of pastries to take with him as a thank you.

   After Joey left, Anjelica sat in the office shaking her head at Tony. “You should have had him arrested.”

   “No, no, they didn’t get anything, and he’s not going to come back here after you put him down.”

   “Tony, are you sure you want our services? I mean, if you’re not going to press charges on these people our service isn’t going to want the contract.”

   “It’s a family business, we’re part of the neighborhood, what am I going to do?”    

   “Well, for a start get some uniforms for your employees. It can be cheap, it be could be matching golf shirts, just something so customers, or thieves, know who works here. People see them, that’s a deterrent. And all these different product lines. Like, are you making a lot of money on cell phones? What are those sales, against the grocery sales? What are your effective footage numbers?”

   Tony shook his head, not understanding.

   “You reduce, or get rid of the products that attract thieves. Then you get less of them. Did you go to business school?”

   “No, my brother started this, but then he didn’t want to do it anymore. He sells insurance. I bought him out.”

   “You need to get some help, Tony.”

   “Oh, yeah? Maybe we… we can have coffee some time, talk about things I need to learn?”

   Tony smiled. Anjelica burst out laughing.

   “I thought you didn’t like bossy women?”

   “That’s only when I don’t think they know better than me. I know you know better than me. You’re a very tough lady.”

   Anjelica went over to Tony at the office door. “We better go down and work the floor. So, you get a full shift for your money.”