“You know, we were wondering whether or not you’d actually turn up.” One of the security guards said, turning away from the doorway. He was about 30 years old his hairline was receding and the edges of his delicately cut black hair seemed to be turning grey. The man was smoking a cigarette, which he almost immediately extinguished when he saw me.
“It’s true.” The second guard said, turning around, closing the door and walking over. He looked younger than the first guard but he also looked like he had been through a lot more. Scars coated his left cheek and the way he walked made me think he had a prosthetic leg. As the guard walked over he reached into his back pocket and pulled something out. “We even had a bet going when you didn’t turn up.” He put the thing he had taken from his pocket into the other security guards hand. “I lost.” He smiled.
“Crap” I repeated, looking between the two of them. “I guess this is it, you’re either gonna kill me or hand me back to your boss.”
“Or we’ll help you to get out and tell the world what you saw.” The second guard said. “My name is The White Bishop, Everyone here knows me as William Du-bode. I’m here undercover working for the White king to bring down the Black King.”
 “Right… and I’m the red Checkers piece…” I said, seriously confused.
“I’m the White Rook and don’t worry, we know who you are. You’re the pawn that’s turned into a queen to take the Black King out.” The first guard said.
“Ok… if you’re going to use Chess analogies use them with people who have played the game, ok? Oh and by the by I’m not gay” I said, the closest I had ever come to chess in my life was when I hit my secondary school tutor around the head with the board. Yeah, I was a bit of a delinquent... in my defence the teacher was strangling my best friend… she’d given up smoking the day before.
“I apologise,” the Bishop guy said, “We only meant that with the knowledge you now possess you can easily bring down The Bla… The Prime Minister.”
“Yeah, that’s true, and all well and good but if you’re here to help then me why the hell am I still hanging on this frigging wall.”
The Rook furrowed his brow and then looked at his partner, “He has a point.” He said, motioning for Bishop to move forward first.
“Thank you.” I said, stretching my arms. That time in the vent had constricted me a little too much. “I don’t know how I can’t ever thank you… and by that I mean if you don’t let me leave right now I will shoot you both.” Yeah, I actually said that, holding one of their guns…
“How did you…” bishop began as he felt for his empty holster.
“I lived in Lewisham my whole life, you do the frigging math,” I said, walking past them towards the door. “I used to be a pick pocket.”
“Turn left when you leave the room and take the service elevator to the basement, and be careful there are government agents all over the place.” Bishop said.
“What are you doing, the guys aiming a gun at you and you’re giving him an escape route?” Rook said, raising his hands and backing towards the wall.
“Because he’s a frigging kid who don’t get what’s going on.” Bishop said, turning to glare at Rook. “He’s still on our side he’s just too confused to know it.” I backed out of the room and closed the door. For some reason, some reason I still don’t understand I decided to take the chess piece’s advice and turned left.
As I walked away I heard the end of the two guys conversation, as the Rook guy spoke to his friend “He’s not a kid Bishop… He’s at least 29” the rook said, quickly followed by the Bishops “Well that’s a lot younger than either of us now go back to your duties.”
I was quickly unable to hear them anymore as I travelled down the corridor, still following his instructions. The instructions were a lot less helpful than I had previously thought, turn left and use the service elevator; there was no service elevator, none that I could see at any rate.
I reached the end of the corridor and stopped. I was at a fork in the road, so to speak. I could go left towards more offices or right towards, what I’m sure was, a dead end and if I wasn’t very much mistaken, a pair of agents from some security bureau... left it is. Of course I could have used the Bishop’s gun but I wasn’t trained for sharp shooting, plus every bullet I used was one more I couldn’t use when I needed to. Shame I didn’t think to check what the guards were guarding, Now that I think back I probably would have been out earlier if I had gone right... but I didn’t.
As I wandered the corridors of the 14th floor I had time to think about what had happened. I thought instantly about the two men I had just left in the office back by the vent. White Bishop and White Rook. They had said that they worked for the White king and were trying to take down the Black King. They also said that with the knowledge I now possessed I was able to bring down the Black King… The knowledge I had engulfed involved the Prime Minister and… well the Prime Minister was the one that I could implicate so he must be the Black King. That’s right he had said that I was going to bring down the Prime minister… right after that analogy about pawn to queen.
It was scary to think that there were people out there working so hard to take down the government, or at least the head of it.