“I’ll Fly Away”

From the book the last braincell

It was a fragmented crowd that gathered itself outside of the downtown Milwaukee U.S. Bank center office building during its busiest rush hours, where they stood there on the sidewalk pointing and looking up towards the skyline, but more-so towards the 40th floor of this building that stood just beneath the clouds. And from looking up from where they stood, one could clearly see that there was a lone individual person standing out on the ledge, just outside of one of the windows threatening to jump. Where it was the crowd below as crowds can sometimes be, whereas if you've seen one jumper you've seen them all, as there were a few among the crowd who even taunted this jumper to jump and be done with it. However it was this jumper’s intent to have his demands met, or he would end his life on the concrete pavement below before the eyes of this wondering crowd as well as the world, as he claimed to hold all the people of the world responsible for his actions, but if his demands were met, he would then fly away.

It was the city of Milwaukee’s finest, along with its swat and tactical unit that responded to this hostile situation, along with their top negotiator.

Milwaukee was known for having had one of the best hostage negotiators in the country maybe even the world, and as he arrived and made his way onto the scene in the midst of a crowd that continued to swell in size. It was everyone who stood there on the sidewalk below who was looking forward to either witnessing a daring rescue, or seeing this man take a leap of faith, and however you looked at it, this crowd was there looking for a show. It didn’t take long for the crowd to recognize one of there own, as they parted themselves like the red sea and rolled out the red carpet, as they applauded for one Shorty McCallium. To which his name shorty was in no way attributed to him because of his height stature; whereas his nick name came about because of the short amount of time that it usually took him to bring any given hostile, or hostage situation under control, through his outstanding negotiating techniques.

Upon entering the building Shorty thought to his-self, of all days why did this guy have to pick this day? As things in shorty's own personal life were in an upheaval, coupled with the unrest in the middle east, the economy had taken a nose-dive, and the presidential elections were hindering on church and state issues along with a new change. With the rising high cost of health-care that not even a government employee could afford. The crime rate had jumped by ten points, and the city's unemployment was at an all time high. Yea he thought, this will be one of them days that this poor guys not going to come out on the better end of this deal, as shorty seemed to have lost his edge, as well as his faith in God. Finally making it to the 40th floor tired and exhausted, but not from the climb of the stairs, because Shorty had taken the elevator, but because of his life’s ups and downs that he was constantly going through on a day-to-day basis, which were starting to drag his spirit down.

Looking from out of one of the top floor windows as he looked down below, all the while thinking to his-self, how he wouldn't want to go down that way. Give me the elevator or the stairs any day, was his subtle remark to his-self.

Now making his way down the final corridor before reaching his destination point, as he began to think about just what type of individual he was about to go up against. Just what kind of mental mind games would this guy be bringing to the last supper, or would this be yet just another disgruntled employee out to prove his self worth to the company that got rid of him, or even still, some sort of a religious fanatic, or activist, maybe even someone whose just fed-up with life, and couldn't take it any-more, as this would be a quick way out, instead of subjecting his self to a life inside of the inner-workings of the bureaucratic democracy portrayed by the politicians who came to be our elected officials. But once Shorty made it to the window where this jumper stood just outside on the ledge, there stood a scruffy older gentleman who looked as though he hadn’t had a meal in a month of Sundays. He was unshaven, UN-bathed and had the look of a junkie who'd just fried his last brain cell.

It was then that the would be jumper went on to make all kinds of outlandish demands, such as peace on earth, stop the wars in foreign countries, as he then went on to state, how we-all should just learn to love one another, and get along and if these demands weren't met, he then would jump to his death. But he then interjected that if at-least one of his demands were met, he would then graciously fly away.

Well Shorty McCallium was the city’s top negotiator, and they say that Shorty on his best day could even talk an Eskimo into buying ice cream on a cold winters day, but Shorty’s days of negotiating were fading fast as he began losing faith, not only in his ability’s as a negotiator, but in God as well. Also in the things that mankind no-longer held sacred, and this guy on the ledge outside wasn't making things any easier for him on this day.

Shorty thought to his-self about these outrageous demands that he knew that no one could possibly grant in the time frame that this jumper was demanding. Meanwhile Shorty’s team held on to the belief that this was just another given situation that Shorty would soon have under control and had it in the bag as he approached the window with his usual swagger of confidence as he sought to begin his negotiations with this scruffy looking stranger.

Shorty started out the way he normally would with some of his break the ice conversations that always seemed to warm over a bad situation. However as far as this would be jumper was concerned the ice had already been melted, and he didn't want to waste any more time with Shorty’s small talk. What he wanted were results, and after a little back and forth bantering on Shorty’s part the gentleman on the ledge called Shorty by his given birth name that not too many people referred to him as, which got Shorty’s immediate attention.

This then had Shorty asking this scruffy old gentleman, had they met somewhere before. And that’s when the man on the ledge then told him that they’d never met before, but he did say how God appreciates your persuasive ability’s and negotiability skills, he says that your a good soul, but now it’s time for you to negotiate for the future of all of mankind. And with that Shorty pulled his-self back inside the window and tells his team how this guy is out there bad, he’s too far gone upstairs for me to attempt to coax him in on his own. “And in my professional opinion this guy definitely has intentions on taking that big step and jumping to his death, and there’s nothing that I can do to talk him in, because his mind is definitely made up.” And this would come to be the first time that shorty's team sensed that shorty might have been losing his edge. Using just hand signals as not to let the jumper on the outside ledge know that they were about to attempt the Russian-pull technique, a counter move devised by Shorty himself, as it was developed for just such a situation. But first things first Shorty had to get the jumper to maneuver his self just one foot closer to the outreach of shorty's team. So this time when Shorty stuck his head back out the window, the guy said before Shorty could say anything to him, “what happens from this point on will be because of your non-compliance to the wishes of our father in heaven to negotiate for mankind that I take my life.”

“Wait! One minute” stopping the jumper from leaping at that moment by asking him just what it was, that this jumpers God expected of him, just one man to do. Although Shorty asked the question, this was just a ploy allowing his team time to strategically get themselves in place for what they were about to attempt. “You! Have to make them understand,” said the jumper as he began to explain, “that what their doing is wrong, mankind is losing in the battle of good verses evil, you have to start spreading the love that’s there instilled in you.” “You have to talk with the leaders of the world and make them to understand that God is just and merciful, and then I’ll fly away.” “Is that all,” said Shorty in a sarcastic tone in his voice, “well I guess you can come on in now; now that we’ve got an understanding?” With that the gentleman slid sideways away one-step in the opposite direction from where he stood out on the ledge saying in a disgruntled tone, “do not mock me Marquise Andersen McCallium the lord is calling unto you to do it again, to-which shorty had no idea what he was talking about.” Where it was just then that the world would learn thru a breaking news story that was told of how a peace agreement had been made between two warring countries, thanks in part to the negotiating skills of one shorty McCallium of the United States. When just at that moment without a warning the entire building began to shake with a tremendous force as Shorty and his team were thrown back inside, while the people who once stood outside waiting on a dramatic out-come of this situation, began scurrying for cover from this building that was now coming down all around them from above along with the shaking apart of the grounds beneath there feet. Sending everyone running for cover as the building and the city began shaking violently on its axis. Knocking people off their feet along with trees being uprooted, sidewalks coming apart, cars being overturned and this all took just a matter of seconds.

And when the earth shaking was all over the immediate search was on for the gentleman that once stood on the ledge outside the office building up above. Shorty just knew that the scruffy old gentleman had plummeted to his death below, but his body was nowhere to be found on the grounds among the rubble and the debris, and only after hours of intense searching for this would-be jumper was the search for his remains called off. After a thorough questioning of a few participant of the one time crowd that had gathered below, no one could say for sure exactly what became of the man who once stood on that ledge, although one onlooker claimed that he saw him fly away. It was into the night when the crowd finally dispersed and everyone agreed that it was one hell of a day and tomorrow would be the task of putting the city back together again.

Later on back at the first district police station as Shorty made it back from a day he wouldn’t too soon forget as the day his negotiation skills died as this would be one for his record books, and as he clocked out, and before he could leave the station, he was called into the captain’s office about a news flash that was breaking across the nation. And as he and his fellow officers gathered themselves around the television, where it seems that in California over 35000 miles away during downtown rush hour in a heavy business district on a fiftieth floor, on a ledge standing outside stood a man threatening to jump if his demands were not met. Shorty’s captain and his fellow officer’s eyes all focused on Shorty, and it was his captain that said to him, “tell me that’s not the same guy.” Just then it was one of California eyes in the sky helicopters that flew in for a closer look at this would be jumper who stood on the ledge, as he could be heard shouting God needs you Marquise Andersen McCallium, and you don’t have much time before I jump, and nobody knew what the crazed man on the ledge meant by that, except one man 35000 miles away here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who now knew that God was calling him.