The real and truthful autobiographical story of Anastasia Vigos Friday.

Anastasia stopped typing for two seconds to rub her wrists. She made small circles with her hands and a
light cracking noise came from her wrists. She corrected her posture, then she set her hands back down
on her computer and continued the clackity clack clack as she typed. She couldnt remember the last
time she peed, but she had to keep typing if she was going to finish the meeting minutes by 3pm. Why
did Maria need the minutes by 3pm? She did not know.
For a second, she considered putting her wrist guard on, but she let that thought slip by as she furiously
typed on. Suddenly, the phone rang. Anastasia peered at the caller IDJane in Development. Ugh.
Anastasia knew if she picked up the phone she would be listening to Jane talk for at least 30 minutes,
and thats 30 minutes that she just didnt have. The ringing stopped, but a minute later her voicemail
light illuminated.
Anastasia thought, Christ, Jane! What is it now? She listened to the voicemail, and of course Jane rattled
on with some inane request. Phew! I dodged a bullet there. Good luck getting me to answer your call
ever again, Jane. Email that shit next time!
Back to the grindstone, Anastasias fingers moved swiftly and without pause, although they ached
slightly. She thought, What level of hell is this brainless office work? And how did I land myself here?
Anastasia was quite rebellious and adventurous when she was young. As a punk kid, she was
independentroaming around town, seeing bands, generally fucking shit up. She was a world traveler
before she finished high school and wrote beautiful stories of her exploits. She had grand designs of
getting out of her Podunk town in Arizona and being a film maker, but when she graduated high school
she had no money. She ended up studying English at her local university. It was cheap and she could live
at home. Thus began a lifetime of settling.
Now Anastasia works in a quiet office, a sea of cubicles really, in a big city that she can barely afford. She
was the assistant to an advisor at a personal finance firm. It was dull work, in which she had absolutely
no interest. She sits all day, but tries to find any excuse possible to get away from her desk. I wonder if
the mail is here. Or My water is a little lowIll fill it again. After work, she drinks a little too much, but
only socially. She takes classes from time to time to learn something new, hoping that it will suddenly
ignite some passion in her. She still sees bands and has a great group of friends, but 40 hours out of
every week are devoted to something that she hates. 40 hours out of every week, she does not use her
brain or her body. She sits still and she types.
Anastasia sighed and continued to type. It was 2:38, not enough time to finish typing these minutes.
Maria would get them a little late. Oh well.
Suddenly, a loud crack broke the silence in the room. Anastasia jumped and covered her ears. What the
hell was that? A gunshot? There was a murmur in the office as everyone wondered what was
happening, but Anastasia saw it before most people: there was a gunman in the building. Anastasia
could see him on the other side of the break room, walking in the other direction. She ducked down and
yelled Everyone get down! as she shimmied over to her cube mate.
Christy, get down, she said and she pulled Christy to the ground. Theres a man with a gun in the
building.
Christy shrieked and Anastasia quickly covered her mouth.
Be quiet! We dont want him to come this way.
We should run out, Christy proposed.
Theres no way. Hes between us and the elevators. We might be able to make it to the emergency
stairs, but hell hear the alarm go off. Plus we cant leave everyone in here.
Anastasia grabbed the mirror in Christys drawer, the one that she sees Christy gaze into several times a
day, and used it to peer around the corner of the cubicle and down the hall. Two more men with guns
were coming their way, heading toward the emergency exit. A series of gasps and shrieks followed
them. Anastasia grabbed Christy and pulled her under the desk and against the cubicle wall.
What the hell is going on? Anastasia thought. And as if she was being answered, a mans voice bellowed
from the opposite side of the building. He had a vague European accent.
Listen to me very carefully. We are looking for some information. If you all cooperate no one will be
harmed.
With the mirror, Anastasia could see that there were two more men next to the one speaking. They
were roughly holding Nancy and Ambika with handguns to their heads. He continued, I have two lovely
ladies helping me find some information. I want the rest of you to make your way to the restrooms
where my men will lock you in. If you try any
Suddenly, Greg, the HR manager, and Carol, from Accounts Payable, tried to tackle the two men holding
Nancy and Ambika. They attempted to wrestle the handguns away from them, but within an instant,
two more henchmen appeared and pulled Greg and Carol away.
The leader continued at an increased volume, This is what Im talking about people! Twenty of my men
now roam your halls. We have all of your exits covered. If you cooperate with us, I assure you that you
will leave here alive. I cant say the same for these two.
At that moment there were two more loud cracks. Greg and Carol each took a bullet in the head. This
was serious. Suddenly a fire was ignited in Anastasia and she knew that she couldnt let these dicks get
away with this. Greg and Carol were good people. They were just regular folks with spouses and kids.
Greg liked to brew beers at his house. Carol was an avid cyclist. They didnt deserve this!
Anastasia turned to Christy and whispered, Christy, you gotta do whatever they say. Im staying out
here. But if anyone asks where I am, you say I went home sick this morning. Do you understand?
Christy was sobbing and couldnt talk. But she nodded yes.
You have to be strong. Make sure everyone is taken care of in that restroom. You hear me?
Now, everyone make your way to the toilets. My men will roam the office and pick up any stragglers.
The man with the booming voice laughed. He was wearing a suit with no tie. He had his hair slicked back
and pulled into a tight ponytail. He also had a very finely manicured goatee.
Anastasia shook her head angrily, then hugged Christy. Go! Christy stood up and walked off slowly as
Anastasia squeezed herself further under a desk, behind some boxes of shipping supplies.
Come on you dicks! This shit is on, Anastasia thought to herself.
A few men walked passed the cubicle and did not notice her. She then heard a young man say, Kruger,
its all clear here. After a few more yells of all clear, the footsteps faded toward the northern half of
the building. The southern half sounded empty. Anastasia stayed still for a moment longer, then used
her mirror to check the hall before emerging. She removed her shoes and her jacket, revealing her toned
tattooed arms. She was now just in a tank top blouse and some slacks.
Anastasia would need a gun. She peered down the hall with the mirror and saw that there was a man
standing alone in front of the emergency exit, but she couldnt see if there was someone else along the
west wall within sight of this lone man. Maybe she could get him to come toward her.
Anastasia slowly walked low to the ground two cubes closer to the emergency exit. There was a patch of
sunlight coming in that landed near the ground there. Anastasia crawled toward the patch of light with
her mirror and reflected the light into the lone mans eyes. He turned his head, looking for the source of
the light. Then slowly walked toward the spot with his gun raised.
As he walked toward the light, Anastasia walked quietly around the other side of the cubicle. She pulled
the ear buds from her pocket and wound the ends around her hands. She walked up behind the man. As
he bent low to look under the desk near the patch of light. Anastasia pushed him to the ground with her
foot and wrapped the earbuds around his neck. He fell face down. She sat with her knees on his back
and pulled the earbuds up, strangling this man. He shook and clawed at the cord around his neck. She
remained in control, pulling tighter and tighter until she heard a pop and knew his windpipe had been
crushed.
She grabbed his gun and slung it over her shoulder and around her torso. It was an M16. She was glad to
have an automatic weapon and he had some extra magazines on him so she wouldnt need to be frugal
with bullets. As an air force brat growing up in a small town in Arizona, Anastasia fired her fair share of
guns and she was quite familiar with M16s. She cant even count how many times she watched her
father clean his M16 on the coffee table in the living room. This was everything I rebelled against, but I
guess its coming in handy now, she thought.
Anastasia also grabbed a knife off of his belt and strapped it around her right calf under her slacks. She
dragged the mans lifeless body under the desk and placed boxes in front of him. No one would find him
here. She rubbed her knuckles and wrists. They hurt again, but this time from the struggle to kill this
man.
She peered around corners with her mirror. And saw that the coast was clear, she moved into an open
office along the south wall and slowly closed the door. She turned the lights off and then climbed onto
the desk. She took some books from a shelf and placed them on the desk. Standing on the books, she
could reach the ceiling. She slowing pushed up and slid a square section of the ceiling to the side. She
tested if the roof could hold her a few times and then slowly pulled herself up into the roof. She had a
long way to travel from the south end of this wide open desk farm to the north end. She wasnt sure if
she could do so without being noticed, but at the very least, this would get her close enough to plan an
attack.
She saw that in the ceiling, there were stronger and thicker support beams every four squares that held
up the electrical and air conditioning ducts. On all fours, she balanced on these beams, slowly moving
one hand in front of the other and one knee in front of the other, in an attempt to not disrupt the many
ducts and tubes in the ceiling. As she crawled closer to the north side of the building, she could hear
Kruger and his men talking.
Kruger, everyone has been locked in the bathrooms. We thoroughly searched the building and there is
no one else here.
Wonderful. Untie these women and lets get to work.
The voices got loud enough that Anastasia could tell she was close. She slowly lifted a square from the
ceiling. She couldnt see much. She crawled a little closer. The ceiling was different here. She lifted a
square from the ceiling and saw that she was above the break room. From here she could see the men
standing around a cubicle. There were about 15 of them, including Kruger, from what Anastasia could
see. If it was true that Kruger had 20 men with him that means there were 6 left roaming around.
Anastasia was far enough away that she could see them, but they would not notice her. Her knees were
beginning to hurt and now her wrists were really sore, but she pushed the pain out of her mind and kept
as still as possible.
Nancy and Ambika were brought to the group and pushed down into chairs in front of their computers.
Their hands were untied, but there was still duct tape over their mouths.
Theres two more men. The other four must be by the restrooms, the elevators, and the emergency exit.
Oh wait, I took that guy out, Anastasia thought. Everyones here, but three men.
Kruger turned to the women and gave them instructions. We need to search for this list of names. We
want all of their banking information and overseas holdings transferred to this name. And dont try to
fuck with me, and tell me this cant be done. I know it can and I know you two have the proper
authorization to do it.
Anastasia then heard that familiar clacking of a keyboard. That is normally the only sound she hears in
this quiet office. Its even difficult to take a phone call without feeling self-conscious that she is being
too loud.
The clock was ticking. Anastasia needed to take these guys out and quick. She might be able to shoot
them from here but she was really out of practice. She hasnt shot a gun in 15 years. She stuck the nose
of the M16 through the slit in the ceiling, but couldnt get enough space to see through the scope. Nope,
it wouldnt be possible to shoot with any accuracy from this position. She pulled the gun in and slung it
over her back. She needed to get closer.
Anastasia crawled slowly toward the group until she was right over them. She pulled the ceiling tile up
slightly without being noticed. She slid the gun into position. She was just west of the group but had a
clear shot. She began firing and easily took three men out. They all ducked and scattered. She opened
fire, chasing the men away from Nancy and Ambika. The men were confused about where the shots
came from. Within a few moments, she had taken down 12 men. Kruger was on the floor near Nancys
chair. Anastasia didnt have a clear shot of him or the rest. She would need to come down to finish the
job.
She let off a few more rounds and then pushed back the tile completely. She quickly jumped down from
the ceiling into an empty cube. She fell hard and landed on a phone. She twisted her ankle and slammed
onto her shoulder as she held the M16 in ready position. She groaned and rolled onto the ground. Two
men saw her fall and came around the corner into the cube. She heard them coming and took them
down easily. She stood up, wincing as she put pressure on her ankle. Damn! she whispered as she
stepped over their lifeless bodies.
Whoever you are, you are making a big mistake! Kruger bellowed in his weird accent. You are costing
everyone their lives!
He sounded like he was moving slowly toward the west wall, where the restrooms were, dragging
something. Anastasia peeked around the corner of the cube. It was clear. She slowly moved toward
Krugers voice. She looked quickly around each cubicle wall before moving forward. A shot was fired at
her but missed. She ducked and turned around, letting out three rounds into the cubicle wall behind
her. A body slumped over out of the cubicle and a trail of blood began to flow. 16 down. 5 to go.
Anastasia looked around the corner, then entered the cubicle where the two women had been. Ambika
was there hiding under the desk, but Nancy was gone. Ambika was crying. She had removed the tape
from her mouth, which left her with a red face. She whisper, They have Nancy. Anastasia nodded.
She looked around the corner and saw that there was man with a wounded leg down the hall, two
cubicles away. Damn. I only clipped him, Anastasia thought. She shimmied forward on the ground and
settled down behind a cubicle wall. He was a bit far away but she took aim anyway. He was holding his
hand gun up and was breathing heavy. Her trigger finger flexed, but then she thought twice. He cant
move. Ill leave him. Kruger is my target anyway.
Anastasia turned around and motioned to Ambika to stay put. Hunched over with her gun ready, she
moved away from the north wall and down the hall to the west. She limped slightly to keep the weight
off of her now swollen ankle.
Do you want this innocent woman to die? Come out and give up your weapon or I swear to fucking god
I will shoot her!
Kruger was talking again good. Its easier to locate him this way. Anastasia moved toward the west wall,
stopping against each partition to look between the cubicles. Finally, she caught sight of Kruger. He was
walking backwards, dragging Nancy with a gun to her head.
Anastasia knelt down and slowly raised her weapon to take aim. She couldnt hit his head without threat
of hitting Nancy. But she had a clear shot of his shoulder, which would make him drop his gun. That will
have to do for now. Anastasia took a deep breath in and squeezed the trigger. Krugers arm went limp
and Nancy fell. She scurried away as Kruger clutched his arm. He looked around and quickly got to his
feet. He ran toward the west wall. Anastasia followed.
The two guards on the bathroom came into view. Anastasia quickly knelt down and took them down in
three shots. She continued her pursuit of Kruger. He ran toward the emergency exit. She needed to beat
him there. As she turned the corner a shot was fired at her. It grazed her arm. She started
bleedingbadly. She fell to the ground and backed into a cubicle. Damn! That must be the guard by the
elevators.
Suddenly, the alarm went off. Kruger made it to the emergency exit. Fuck! I need to take this asshole
down fast! Anastasia peered out from behind the cubicle but saw nothing. She moved into the cubicle
and climbed on the desk. She looked over the partition. There! Got you, shitbag! With one clear shot,
she took him down.
Anastasia left the cube and ran toward the emergency exit. She stepped over the lifeless body of the
elevator guard and murmured Elevator going down.
She entered the emergency exit stairwell and the door locked behind her. Fuck! He could be anywhere!
Anastasia waited and listened. She could hear him moving slowly in the stairwell below her. He was
hurt. Did he have another gun on him? She couldnt remember. She saw dots of blood going down the
stairs. She moved down the stairs against the wall as quietly as possible. As she did so, she saw that the
blood trail became thicker and without pause.
Give up, Kruger! Youre going to lose this fight one way or another, She yelled, her words filling the
narrow space.
He laughed in response. It sounded hollow and weak, not the booming voice it was in the office. Im
not letting some little office bitch take me down. Thats for sure.
Thats it. Ive had enough of this motherfucker! She moved down the stairs quickly and without caution,
but suddenly there were gunshots. Shit! He does have a gun. She waited until the gunfire ended and
then shot down the stairwell with her M16. It clicked empty. She pulled the magazine out and popped a
new one. She leaned back against the wall and breathed for a moment. Her right side was drenched in
blood and her arm was throbbing from the wound. Her white sleeveless blouse was now a mix of black
and red. She was a mess and needed to think. What do I do?!
She heard Kruger shuffling. I need to get downstairs quick. If I can surprise him, I could take him out. She
decided she needed to jump down onto the next floor. With her swollen ankle this wouldnt be easy.
She ran and jumped over the railing, landing on the floor. She landed on both feet, which killed, but she
dropped and rolled, coming face to face with Kruger on the stairs. It was a Mexican standoff. Fuck!
Drop your weapon! Kruger yelled as he pointed his handgun at her. She was kneeling down with her
M16 pointed at him as she looked into his eyes. He was serious. He looked fucked up. His shitty ponytail
had come undone and his hair was disheveled. He was covered in blood and his grey suit jacket was
ripped at the shoulder where he was shot.
Her body relaxed and she took her right hand away from the trigger. With her left hand holding the gun
by the barrel and her right hand on the butt, she lowered the weapon to the ground and looked down.
With one fluid movement she dropped the gun and pulled the knife from its holster around her calf. She
threw the knife at Kruger, hitting him square in the chest. The impact made Kruger fall backward, over
the railing, and down the stairwell. Anastasia jumped to the railing and watched as Kruger fell to his
death.
She slowly sat down on the stairs, smiled, and murmured, All in a days work.