The Street

As he was walking through the cool night mist, he noticed something.

“You know” The man said to a person walking alongside him “There’s something here. It’s like us.”

The other person, a tall figure made more made more gargantuan by the darkness, turned around.

“What are you on about now?” The tall man replied with more than a tint of frustration in his voice.

“I’m just saying,” The man said quickly “this street- this city. Just look around- in what an hour or two ago was a bustling center of activity is now calm and quiet. It just fits.”

The tall man sighed and looked down at the mossy mosaic of sewer grates and bricks beneath him.

“We don’t fit anywhere.” The tall man stated.

“No, you’re taking this from the wrong angle- we don’t fit in with anyone.” The man proposed. “This, this emptiness, this desolation- this is us.”

“All the more reason to become one with it then. Hurry it up.” The tall man commanded, after which he turned around and resumed walking.

The other man ran after him.

“You’re not getting it” The man complained “we fit. We’re not the problem. We’re the solution.”

“You can’t be chickening out. Not now.” The tall man said- not pleadingly but as if he was stating a fact.

The two had stopped in front of a tall building. It’s doors had been boarded up, and had more than its fair share of graffiti.

“Look, if a brick breaks, it’s replaced. We are a brick. I realize it now- we are not one of a kind. We are replaceable.” The man argued.

“That doesn’t matter now.” The tall man replied “This is all we can do. I won't go back.”

“No. There is a way. We have to remove someone who can’t be replaced. We have to do as much damage to them as we can.” The man said, his desperation becoming more apparent.

“I am not going back. We are not going back.” The man replied with a tone of unbreachable finality.

The two men made their way up the stairs, onto the roof.

“You aren’t listening!” The man pleaded- now yelling at the top of lungs.

The tall man grabbed him by the neck.

“Make no more noise.” The tall man commanded, releasing his grip.

The other man simply collapsed to the ground coughing. The tall man grabbed him by the ankle, dragging him along.

“With this it ends.” The tall man declared.

To the back of him the tall man could hear some quiet sound from behind him, but it no longer mattered. He dragged the other man over the edge. The door behind him burst open. Louder noises. The feeling of air, and the mist within. There was no recollection of his past. There was no need for it. The tall man sighed.

Quickly, too quickly, the remains were hauled off. Due to signs of struggle, it was called murder-suicide. Titles were revoked. Neither men had family, and many officials did what they could to cover anything up. The collective then received two new members. Fresh, young, innocent. They were able to quickly and efficiently resume the work. The only things lost in the transfer were the classified materials each men carried. It was expected that these materials fell down a grate near where they both landed, and were flushed out.