The Job

“How much time will I have?”

“Seven minutes, from the time you enter the building to the time the alarm goes off.”

“Seven minutes? I can’t work with that.”

“The job doesn’t accomodate the slow. I can always send for another guy.”

“No. You don’t neeed to do that. I can make seven minutes.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll just... move extra fast, right?”

“Still be careful.”

“Of course. Always.”

“You seem nervous.”

“Excited, more like it.”

“No. I’d call it nervous.”

“Can we get on with this? The sooner I get in, the sooner I get out.”

“Your intellectual ability continues to astound me.”

“Don’t be sarcastic.”

“I’ll be whatever I have to be. And I expect you to be the same.”

“What’s that?”

“An in-and-outer. It’s what we call people like you. At least the good ones.”

“And the bad ones?”

“They usually get in, but getting out is another story.”

“So what happens to them?”

“We leave. Screw them.”

“So I guess this is the pep talk that’s supposed to encourage me.”

“Quite frankly, I don’t care about you. I care about the job. If you can get the job done, then sure, I’ll care about you.”

“Conditional love... I get it.”

“Then get on with it.”

“Okay, let’s go.”