The Trip A man lies restless in bed. A city apartment. Unusually quiet. Wait. A police siren. Much atmospheric light spills into the room through expensive white curtains. There is a small flat television at the foot of the bed. By the bed is a small table - glass table top. On the bedside table is a television remote, a mobile phone, a pillbox, and a glass of water. Underneath the table lay a pair of spectacles. The man is short-sighted. There is a desk in the far corner. In the hallway there is a door to a bathroom. There is a large mirror above the television on the wall - it is landscaped. In the mirror is a reflection of the black and white photograph of two nude women playing poker, which hangs above the bed head. The man is irritated. He has nothing but a small box of natural vitamins in the apartment. An expectant, hesitant sigh. The trip is long, ardous and creatyes paranoia - he wishes to grow, create, maintain his own. A man of self-sufficiency. His in-built wardrobe is camouflaged in the wall and contains worn items of clothing. Some items dating to the nineteen twenties. He is wearing nothing but a pair of cotton boxer shorts while laying inbetween black cotton sheets, with the douve folded at the foot of the bed. A admirer of cotton - the sensation now irritates him moreso. The sound of a helicopter in the distance. Sweat beads upon the man's brow. It is summer and the city sags. Again he fidgets and turns over. Restlessness. A sip of water and wipes his brow with an upturned hand. Drifts into a light reverie. Another police siren - closer this time - wrests him from the moment. Flings his feet off the side of the bed. Walks around in the slight darkness and kicks the only thing on the floor. A beanbag. Draws to the table and writes 142 on a blank piece of paper. The helicopter can be heard closer now. And a pedestrian buzzer sounds at the traffic lights as a car horn is blasted into the night. He returns to bed and sits upright. Reaches the remote - flicks casually through the stations - muted. Nothing of interest. Two news bulletins. An Adam Sandler flick. A foriegn film. And a German Opera. Turns the television off. Finishes the glass of water. Gets up and walks to the bathroom. Toilet, seat up, directly in front of the doorway. on the farthest wall. Bath/Shower combo lines the wall to the left - no curtain. Shampoo, conditioner and soap. Towel hangs on the rack at the back of the door. Cupboard and basin duo lines the wall to the right, which has a mounted medicine cabinet with mirror doors. There is a powerpoint beneath the light switch. The cupboards are empty except for two spare towels. One large, one small. The medicine cabinet contains an electric shaver. The man is clean shaven - hair has been recently cut - spent the day at a health spa and is manicured. Not a wank look, but if a certain executive style - cleanliness. In the bathroom he pees - flushes. Rinses his hands. Fills the glass. Returns to bed in the dark. Helicopter sounds overhead - louder then cuts out. Man drifts into a light sleep. A green glow enters from the window. It is from a neon sign being turned on - it flickers - goes out - comes on - and repeats. There are multiple sirens heard from a distance - drawing closer. Finally the neon sign cranks into full operation and omits a fierce green light and an outstanding hum. Man is awoken. Footsteps are heard in the hallway. The man gets out of bed and padlocks his wardrobe. Walks over to the desk - misses the beanbag - and pens 227. The front door bursts open. Half-a-dozen cars screech to a halt in the street below. Sirens are now bellowing. Fever pitch. The men entering the apartment are dressed in full kevlar and helmets. MP5's at the ready they spread out and occupy the whole apartment. The man is flushed against the window and cuffed. He does not resist. He remains silent. He is marched out of the apartment in nothing but his boxer shorts and a pair of hand-cuffs. He stumbles slightly - he cannot see well and it is dark. The last man to leave enters the bathroom. This man removes a towel - small - from the cupboard. He wraps a bag - hefty - filled with white powder in the towel. Places the wrapped towel in the toilet. Takes the extendable shower head from its rack. Lifts the top from the toilet water dispensor and begins showering water into the it. He flushes the toilet. The towel disappears. The toilet is blocked but does not fill with water. He turns the shower off. Replaces the head. Replaces the toilet lid. He removes himself from the room. and walks into the lift being held for him. Moments later a dozen police fill the apartment.  ¶ 4:11 pm