Jayce closed his eyes and breathed in deep. The air had the taste of commercial-grade cleaner and fresh Cinnabon. “Sorry,” he mumbled, then yanked the fire alarm lever down.<\/p>\n
The first time, Jayce had been swept down the walkway in a crush of people scrambling toward the exits. The second time had been slower, and the one after that slower still. Now only a few people hurried toward the doors. Mothers clutching toddlers to their chests. Businessmen determined to get out before firetrucks clogged the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Today was the eighteenth time in a month Jayce had pulled the alarm. Tomorrow he would do it again. And the day after that.<\/p>\n
And then he’d do it for real.<\/p>\n
Security guards waited for him as he walked around the corner, the one who looked like the guy from Hot Fuzz<\/em> and the one-time linebacker who’d tackled Jayce into the landscape display the fourth time he’d tripped the alarm.<\/p>\n “You really wanna do this, guys?” Jayce asked. “You know it’s not gonna make any difference.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jayce closed his eyes and breathed in deep. The air had the taste of commercial-grade cleaner and fresh Cinnabon. “Sorry,” he mumbled, then yanked the fire alarm lever down. Continue reading