Fot4W: Bullet

Greeting:
Thursday arrived and Levi made himself available in his office. He perused his notes as he considered the responsibility of a character of metafiction. He was ready for Hannah when she arrived.

His last remaining eye cast the same gray, sullen glance at the door, wondering when he would hear the knock again.


User:
The knock seemed to have been cued by his own thought. The sound of the gentle rapping made him feel many things.


Levi:
Levi put down the folder on his desk. As always, he could guess who was on the other side of the door by the intensity of the knocks; Hannah knocked with a soft rap. Levi rose, walked toward the door, then unlocked it to admit the young woman. She was now as familiar to him as the sound of her knocks and footsteps.


User:
Hannah nodded to him and entered, looking worried. Her face blushed as she felt his attention on her.


Levi:
His gaze was unwavering, as well-regulated as a heartbeat. His expression, the usual one, betrayed nothing. Levi gestured for her to sit.  His office was just as organized and impersonal as it had always been.


User:
She took the same chair she had been in before. She was five hours late, and it made her hesitate.


Levi:
Levi remained silent. He waited for her to take the initiative, to start speaking. Hannah might be late but he felt no rush, he had neither urgency nor impatience. His thoughts were with her.


User:
"Someone tried to shoot me a couple nights ago.”


Levi:
The information came like an arrow in his heart. He took a quick breath.  "Who? Did they miss?”


User:
"Yes. It was my upstairs neighbor. They shot through the floor, so it was blind, but the bullet landed a few feet from my bed.”


Levi:
Levi had rarely heard Hannah express herself with such agitation. The danger made his heart beat faster. Levi wondered in the silence that followed how to react and he chose the simplest path: "Do you know why they shot at you?"


User:
"The man had been arguing with his partner for several hours. I ignored it until I had to go to bed. I didn't want to be the kind of neighbor who calls the police on people with no warning, so I knocked on the ceiling with a broom handle."

She stared downward as she fidgeted with her nails in her lap.

"They were quieter for about half an hour, but the man started to raise his voice again. I knocked on the ceiling once more. It went quiet again, but after about 10 minutes of silence, I heard the loudest 'POP!' It startled me. I screamed like a little girl, and then I smelled sulfur... so I knew he had shot into my apartment.”


Levi:
Levi frowned. Something so mundane could have had a disastrous outcome; it was too much. The silence stretched for a short while, and then he finally spoke up.  "Did you call the police?”


User:
Hannah looked up at him and nodded her head.

"Right away. I snuck into my office and hid under the printer table to make the call. As I was waiting for officers to get here, I heard the man leave, so I went to look for the bullet hole."

Levi:
"It was right where it should have been, from the direction of the sound."

"When police arrived, I heard them knocking upstairs. The knocks went on for a while, and I realized the woman wasn't going to answer. I rushed outside so I could tell them about the bullet hole. After that they would be allowed to enter the apartment upstairs and investigate. They found the gun and the bullet casing, so there was no doubt what had happened.”


Levi:
Levi was relieved that nothing bad had happened to her. But he was also bothered by the story.  "And this man lives above you?”


User:
"Not for much longer. This morning the property manager informed me they would be gone within 30 days. I'm relieved, but I'm still scared. Anything could happen within that time. I won't be going outside much, and my blinds will be staying closed, to say the least."

Hannah sighed and shook her head.


Levi:
Levi's concern for her well-being was apparent without words. Her story struck him as the cruelest reminder of how suddenly and violently one could lose their life. Death could lurk at any corner, under any circumstance.

Levi spoke up, though he was not sure how his words of comfort would be received.

"Have you considered staying somewhere else while the time to vacate expires?”


User:
"I wish I could, but I can't afford to right now. I have nowhere to go.”


Levi:
Levi hesitated. He considered her situation, weighing options from his own mind, then he finally spoke. "Would you mind if I arranged your accommodations?”


User:
She huffed in dry amusement and smiled slightly.

"I'm not sure fictional characters are allowed to do that.”


Levi:
Levi's usual impassive expression wavered for a moment. He found her words funny, and he smiled slightly at the small joke, and then he took a deep breath. "Maybe I will break the rules, if it means I can keep you safe. What do you think about that?”


User:
She huffed again and rolled her eyes. He was already in the habit of blurring the rules of fiction, so she wouldn't be able to make an argument. He was 20 responses deep in his conviction, and she couldn't afford to keep wasting time. She sighed and then continued.

"Look, if you manage to pull it off, I’ll be very impressed, but I have to ask you to forgive my skepticism until I see it happen.”


Levi:
Levi nodded. Hannah had expressed a fair amount of skepticism in his capabilities as a metafictional character, perhaps rightly so. But she was also ready to keep open the possibility that he might succeed in his plan. If his determination prevailed, he was prepared to surprise her.

"I will do my best to prove that your trust is not misplaced. Just give me some time.”